Ustad Bajan Lal Ji

USTAD BHAJAN LAL JI

April of 2007, india lost great table wizard with the ultimate death of Ustad Bhajan Lal ji at the age of 72 yrs. Ustad bhajan lal ji  was one of the supreme pioneer musical who won for India the great & growing  following .It now commands in North &West He stole the heart of his audience wherever he went with his art and his enchanting personality.

Born on 14 Feb 1935 kasur ( now in Pakistan ) Ustad Bhajan Lal Ji started vigorous period of long and continues practice which is the only way to attain perfection. In the year of 1942 he come to at Amritsar (at the age of 7 years ) with his grand parents .

( Along With Ustad Samta Parsad ji )

At the age of 15 year became disciple of Legendary,   Ustad Samta parsad Banaras gharana for more then 15 years.Thereafter In the year of 1968 Ustad Bhajan Lal Ji became the deciple of Ustad Rattan singh ji who was the deciple of Bhai rakha ji based in Rababi gharana, & continued his education with the grace of god. He regularly  performed in the programs and conferences all over India. He used to visit in programes with legendary of Pt. Samta parsad ji . He accompanied  with Bhade gulam Ali sahib ,Sandya Mukerjee, Roshnara Begum , Pt.Bhim Sain joshi . Pt.Omkarnath thakur K.L pandit ,Jaganath mishra ,Pt.Uma Shanker, Malik Arjun mansoor ,Pt. Hussan Lal, Bhagat Ram, NaJakat Ali,Salamat Ali , Pt. Mahadev parshad , Pt . Panna Lal , Amjad Ali Khan , Halim Jafer khan , L.k Pandit , Ali baksh zahoor, Munaver Ali Khan, Vinayak Rao patwardan Bhai Lal ,Pt.Dalip Chander Bedi etc.

( Along With Ustad Rattan SinghJi )

Ustad Bhajan Lal Ji developed style of his own, noted for lighting rhythmic pattern and inmate understanding of the mood of the artist he always showed adroitness and skill in his accompaniment while his solo was notable for case,clarity ,diversity and grace The Rababi  gharana of tabla, to which Ustad Bhajan lal ji , belonged, is known for compositions that defy expansion. However, it goes to Ustad bhajan lal's credit that he enriched his own Gharana with compositions that allowed expansion and, at the same time, bestowed a new dimension upon the technique and language of tabla. His unique contribution included Peshkaar, Kaaydas, relas and rav. , Ustad Bhajan lal ji was a thinker among tabla-players. Many are the combinations and permutations of tihai and Chakradaar that he introduced in the art of tabla-playing. No doubt, these were mathematical in nature and came from a man who had no formal education! However, it needs to be borne in mind that though there is mathematics in Indian rhythm, there is no rhythm in mathematics per se. Thus, in the context of tabla, a mathematical combination sounds impressive only if it is supported by an unhindered flow of rhythm. Ustad Bhajan Lal JI demonstrated this flow not only in his tabla-playing, but through his body language too! Incidentally, this was also the high point of his recitation (padhant). This tradition has been ably sustained by his sons ,grandsons& his disciples.

 ( Along with Ustad Rattan Singh Ji & his sons )

He gave the traning his sons Ustad Hariom Srivastav Ji or Ustad Murli Manohar. There after  Mukand lal , Nihal chand , Kala ram , Pandit Ramakant , Kirpal singh Namdhari,  Sardar Avtar Singh Namdhari, Surinder sing,Harinder Singh Namdhari, Sarbhjit singh ladhi, Pankaj srivastav , Munish srivastav , Amit srivastav , Mohit srivastav etc . who is amoraidend rababi gharana all over the world with separating with the education. It rarely so happens that a great artiste is a good human being too.

Ustad ji was a shining example of this highly desirable combination. He was as great a human being as he was a musician. Music was life for him and life music. It is because of this that his life and work remain an everlasting inspiration for all those desirous of treading this challenging path.