Megh Malhar: Hills to Hall

Megh-Malhar: Hills to hall

By: Rajbir Deswal

The call of the hills coupled with the conglomeration of the clouds in lower Shivaliks invited us to be in Kasauli. We took just half hour to be in the car and began floating on the newly opened Kalka-Shimla Highway. The entire scene got spread on the wind shield like an LCD screen. The white and bubbly clouds seemed to devourer hill green-blue hill-tops. I asked my son to play—Sawan ka mahina pawan kare sore!

Turning from Dharampur we noticed the Manki Point looking like a volcano out of which only snow-white clouds erupted. The Hanuman Mandir atop too was visible. We took pictures of the pine-groves on the way downhill and uphill too. From an opening we had a clearer view of the Daghshai top—a cantonment belonging to the British era.

We stopped at the Church and strolled through the market which had not opened even till 12 in the afternoon. I love this laidback life style of the hill people. Most of the shops were as if belonging to an era gone by. The chemist, the barber, the vegetable seller, the tailor, the sweet-meat seller, were all cast in the same traditional mode. The school children began to return home and we could watch their tiny but confident steps, up and down the slopes.

Next destination was the Manki Point which took about an hour to scale. The view from this peak, the highest as seen from Chandigarh, was all covered with vagrant and drifting clouds. The Sukhna Lake was not visible due to haze. Seen during our last visit, the two-legged monkey, who we saw eating sweet prasad with his mouth like a dog, since he lost his hands (!) in some deadly prank, was not there—perhaps squared up with diabetes. A group of students doubled for the monkey sena here! The characteristics of the raag—Megh Malhar, seemed to manifest here with all the desired frolicking, longing, exuberance and spiritedness besides being soaked in the drizzle and dried with gushing cool winds .

By the evening it was experiencing the raag literally from ‘hill to hall’ when we found ourselves ensconced and enthralled with live vocal recital by Shruti Sadolikar and Pandit Vidyadhar Vyas. The theme was Ritu-Raagas. I am as barren as anyone else could be, on knowledge and information about the raags but possessing a musical ear can make one sway, the way a raag singer wants you to, casting a spell not only on human being but animals and plants as well. Music lovers believe that a Raag Malhar can cause rains while a Raag Deepak can create light around. Tansen successfully experimented singing Megh and Malhar giving it a new name—Miyan ka Malhar.

 Shruti Sadolikar who presented Raag Jayant—a combination of Raag Jaijaiwanti and Malhar informed that  Megh Malhar had many presentations and can be mixed freely with any other raga. She gave three examples. One, Malhar, having locks flowing down, sleekly, being doted on by singing and dancing bevy of nayikas . Two, a serene, calm, white haired and white bearded Malhar sitting in all peace and watching the happenings around. And three, Mallahrikas who are drizzle incarnate, rejoicing in their profuseness of overbrimming longing combined with lurking a feel to be with the beloved. Sawan aaya jhoom ke!

http://epaper.dailypostindia.com/Details.aspx?id=44777&boxid=56444&uid=&dat=2012-08-11