I have never met this grand lady but my friend Jon has. I think it was through Buddhadev DasGupta, the sarod player, the brother of Begum Sahiba’s husband. He was very impressed by her homely warmth and hospitality. I admired her loyalty to her husband for many years she would only give programs if they were along with him- and he was/is a very unlikable singer. Her career suffered. Some years ago though she started again singing solo to the relief of music lovers. Kishori Amonkar and Begum Sahiba, as different as could be, are the reigning divas of Hindustani vocal music, in my opinion.
Begum has always been known for her superb voice and technique. Her creativity is remarkable. Two comments she had made during concerts I had attended years ago I will always remember. Once during rag Madhuvanti she paused to remark that (perhaps contrary to the popular idea) Madhuvanti is a deceptively difficult raga. Another time during a stunning Megh, she remarked how the taans in this raga should be sung with power and demonstrated with impressive descending patterned taans.
More than anything I admire her charismatic stage presence. She does not throw tantrums, or have “off days” as far as I can tell, and she has the grace of a bygone era . She is of course the only female Muslim singer among the top singers. Isn’t that remarkable? Her emotional romantic connection with the audience is perfectly suited to thumri singing and she is a great, electrifying thumri singer. I believe it is a question of temperament. Many female khayal singers sing thumri in concerts but some fall flat- Ashwini Bhide Deshpande, Shruti Sadolikar, Kishori Amonkar, Kesarbai Kerkar, for example, even though they may be great khayal singers. Among current singers i find Padma Talwarkar, Manjushri Kulkarni-Patil and Shubha Mudgal excellent thumri singers.
It is not so different with male singers. The greatest- Ustad Faiyaz Khan, and the late Pt. Mahadev Prasad Mishra. Pt. Ulhas Kashalkar sings bandish thumris very well but bol banao…… that is something else. According to Kalidas, the well-known music critic in Delhi the best thumri singers in India are Rajan and Sajan Mishra, relatives and from the same Benares gharana as the great Mahadev Prasad Mishra. I assume that living in Delhi Kalidas knows them and has heard them sing thumri. Alas, not the public. they do not sing thumris, even if requested. I have no idea why, but perhaps it has to do with the “mirasi” tawaif culture of their background and a desire to distance themselves from it.
