The question is what kind of Bandishes should be played on Surbahar. Only Dhrupad bandishes? Pakhawaj? Tabla? Kind of Jhala with tabla/ pakhawaj? Content in between (as in, the sequence, toda, upaj etc)?
I will answer the question point wise.
1) To start with, I would like to mention that all the Surbahar recitals that I have heard hitherto, have been playing Alap, Jod and Jhala. These Surbahar players did not play Gats at all. To name a few, Ustad Imdad Khan (Jaunpuri
record), Ustad Enayet Khan (several Surbahar records), Ustad Mushtaq Ali Khan (Raga Puriya full national program) – no Gats. Even UVK, Imratbhai etc. Pushparaj Koshti (of Dagar Gharana) did not play any Gats.
2) Hence, to play Gats with Surbahar is a concept unknown to me. However, if we wish to play Gats within Surbahar – as have been played with Been / Veena, we could think about a little modification.
3) Dhrupad Bandishes (not Gats) played with Been follow the Dhrupad idiom – perhaps with the slightly faster tempo. I have composed a short Bandish for Sharada in Jhaptal. This composition follows Dhrupad rendition but with Khyal ang. Hence, if it desired to include a Gat composition in a Surbahar recital, I would recommend that it should be done in Jhaptal or Sultaal. The actual composition could be based on a Dhrupad composition sung in this taal which might be termed as Sadra.
4) UVK had mentioned in his NCPA recordings of Been that, Ustad Sadiq Ali Khan, Ustad Asad Ali Khan etc. leaned a lot on Khyal ang in the Bandishes played with Pakhawaj.
5) It is self-evident that, if Bandishes / Gats are to be played with Surbahar, it will have to be accompanied by Pakhawaj and not Tabla – Tabla would give a distinct Khyal based tempo.
6) The development of Bandish / Gat in such a case will have to follow the Sitar Gat unfoldment upto the stage of Gat-Kam, just as taan patterns are not a part of Dhrupad rendition.
7) Hence, Jhala could be played just as we play in Sitar recitals except (I assume) that, in the Alap / Jod stage Jhala portion consisted of Ulta Jhala.
In conclusion, we would add that sobriety and introspective element of Surbahar should not be lost in an attempt to play aggressive rhythmic pattern.
Q11
Could you please enlighten on the kind of bandish should be played on Surbahar. Only dhrupad bandishes? Pakhawaj? Tabla? Kind of Jhala with tabla/ pakhawaj? Content in between (as in, the sequence, toda , upaj etc)?
Thanks and Regards