From Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar to Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, singers explain why it rains concerts in monsoon

Whether vasant (spring), grishma (summer), varsha (monsoon), sharad (autumn), hemant (pre-winter) or shishir (winter), India's musical tradition is known to doff its hat to every season. Sure, the salubrious spring is celebrated a lot, but, it is the monsoon that enjoys pride of place in the music of this predominantly agricultural land with a veritable treasure trove of music and compositions in every language, from every region, from pre-historic Vedic times down to Rabindranath Tagore's compositions from the 20th century and Bollywood ditties which celebrate the rain.

Little wonder then that the season from June through August, extending into September sees a surfeit of classical and semi-classical music concerts dedicated to the arrival of the monsoon and the effect it has on nature and man. "Not only India but the whole subcontinent is blanketed in a really horrible heat wave, when forget passion, even the thought intimacy of any kind seems icky," says ethnomusicologist Dr Piyal Bhattacharya. "The arrival of the monsoon not only rejuvenates the greenery but also rekindles passion in human beings. Apart from the hopes that it awakens for a better yield from the fields, that perhaps is another reason why people have musically celebrated the arrival of the monsoon musically," she says, illustrating with a traditional composition in Miyan ki Malhar - Bijuri chamake barase / Meharva aayi badariya / Garaj garaj mohe atahi darave / Ghan garaje ghan damini chamake / Papiha pihu pihu ter sunaave / Kaah karoon kit jaaon / Mora jiyara tarase – that highlights the nayika's yearning for intimacy.

Manjusha Patil, who presented a special monsoon concert Ghan Garje two days ago at Mumbai's National Centre for Performing Arts, said: "Ragas of the Malhar family and myriad genres of semi-classical music like thumri and dadra are inseparably associated with this season. Several allied folk forms like kajri, sawan, jhoola, hindola express the pain of separation and the joy of union with the beloved in the month of Sawan."

Her guru Pt Ulhas Kashalkar, who has himself trained in the Gwalior, Jaipur and Agra gharana styles and is considered a representative of all three schools, says that artistes look forward to the season since it gives them a chance to explore rare ragas. "There are several traditional Malhar ragas dedicated to the rainy season. While one can sing them all through the year, in the monsoons it is like nature is in sync with your musical presentation.

That is why during the rains, these compositions get their full flavour as their spirit is captured."

Across the border, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, the nephew of the late qawwali and Sufi music legend Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan is performing at a special concert in Lahore next week to mark the rains. "The seasonal cycle, loving and longing, the pining and joy of union are the same across borders. I will be singing some rare monsoon compositions made immortal because of renditions by legends like Usad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan saab and Ustad Amir Khan among others," he says.

Two days after him, Rezwana Choudhury Bannya will take the stage to enthral listeners with some Tagore compositions on the magic of the monsoon in Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital. "Whether it is the literature, the poetry or the music of Bengal, the rains always have a special place," she says, illustrating with a Rabindra Sangeet composition Mon Mor Megher Sangi she is presenting.

Back in Mumbai, this weekend will see noted thumri exponent Dhanashree Pandit Rai present a special concert analysing how and why the rains came to musically take centre stage in this season. "That Indian classical music heralds the monsoon months with Malhar ragas is a known fact, but is this myth perpetuated by age old musical tradition or is there really some intrinsic connection between Malhar and the rains? And do the lyrics of the compositions or the note combinations that create the monsoon mood? How have the folk melodies of the northern plains like the sawan, kajri, jhoola, hindola evolved into the myriad varieties of our semi classical music celebrating the sawan month?" she asks and indicates that she will explore the answers to these questions as she illustrates each of these forms in a special "narrated concert".

All in all, with the rain upon us, it's the music that will pour over the next few weeks.