A few days ago I chanced to watch an interview of Indian popular artiste Hansraj Hans telecast by a private Pakistani TV channel in which the folk singer from Indian Punjab made a number of observations about music, Sufi saints, Pakistani folk and classical vocalists, that were reflective of his temperament and revealed his true stoic self.
Brimming with humility and respect for his elders and contemporary musicians on both sides of the Wagah border, he talked about his life, musical achievements and further plans of fostering friendship between the two governments and the peoples of both countries.
Born in a Sikh family of Jallandhar as Zorawar Singh, which pointed to the martial and jingoistic traits of his ancestors, he changed his name to Hansraj Hans on the advice of his music teacher. His acquitted pseudonym sounds musical and radiates creative nuances.
Narrating the story of his life, Hansraj disclosed that he had been bitten by the bugbear of music since his early childhood when he was exposed to good music of the maestros of the time. "Although I started training in classical music", he revealed, "I soon turned towards folk varieties of music of the Punjab, which suited more to the conveyance of my feelings about the land of five rivers that has produced a large number of creative artistes, especially in the domain of music".
He especially talked about his birthplace and claimed with a glint of pride in his eyes the creative fertility of the soil of Jallandhar Division, which has in the past groomed musicians of the caliber of Ustad Salamat Ali Khan, the ancestors of Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, K.L. Saigal and several Tabla players of international repute, including Ustad Allah Rakha.
Paying glowing tributes to Pakistani Ghazal singers of the likes of Pervez Mehdi and folk singers, including his host Shaukat Ali and Alam Lohar, Hansraj also talked of Punjabi Sufi poets/saints Baba Bulley Shah, Shah Husain and Baba Farid, whose kafis are included in his repertoire. He spoke very highly of Hazrat Mian Mir, a Muslim Sufi, who laid the foundation stone of Golden Temple, Amritsar, the most sacred place of worship for the followers of Sikhism, whose mausoleum he visited in Lahore to pay his melodic tributes.
Intersperse with brief demonstrations of his own melodic prowess, which radiated subtle sophistications and also pointed to his hard training in music, he was full of respect and praise for the Sufis, whose message of brotherhood of mankind, peace and international understanding he seems to have made central to his music career.
Responding to a question about real love and whether he was ever hit by Cupid's Arrow, Hansraj responded in a highly philosophical term, by saying: "Yes, I had a brief stint with Ishq (real love) jis ko nazar lagg gai (which was ruined by the casting of an evil eye) resulting in its culmination - marriage." He responded to another question in a similar vein by claiming that Sur (a musical note or music) and fragrance of a flower have no religion.
The short demonstrations of his music during the interview clearly pointed to Hansraj's control on melody and rhythm. Folk songs are but the natural expression of an artiste's emotions as released by the affecting events of his life with all the charm of simple and yet powerful rhythm.
The tune of a folk song is a sequence of agreeable pitches within a small compass suggestive of the mood of the mind appropriate to the meaning of the words expressed. Like a good folk singer, Hansraj's folk songs, borrowed from the past and creatively improved by innovations, reflect the basic ingredients and attributes of Punjabi folk melodies.
Possessing a cultured mellifluous voice, Hansraj Hans has a stable temperament, a sine quo non for a vocalist to create immediate rapport with his audiences. He employs these qualities of his voice and his skill in singing to cast hypnotic spells on the listeners. Humility and stoicism are other traits of his persona, which have endeared him to his countless fans, especially in the rural hinterlands on both sides of international border in the Punjab.