On the last day of a classical music show organised by the Lahore Music Forum, Ustaad Shafqat Ali Khan, who is the son of famous classical vocalist Ustaad Salamat Ali Khan, struck a chord with the audience as he sang ‘Raag Saraswati’ for the closure of the session.
Those well-respected in the circle of classical music were present in the audience, along with fans of the genre and students of music who came to listen to their mentors. Saraswati is a derivative raag. It is called ‘janya’ since its root raag is called ‘janaka’ raag.
The ‘Raag Saraswati’ is also a ‘shaaDava’ raag which means that it has about six notes in ascending order and six in descending order. The actual notes in Indian notation are ‘Sa, Ri, Ma, Pa Da Ni’. In his over 10-minute vocals for this raag, Ustaad Shafqat Ali held the audience in hypnotism while his voice change modulations over the seven notes, stretching to its height while dropping at its lowest note.
He was aided by a sarod, the sarangi and the tanpura which he himself was playing while singing, along with the basic harmonium, sitar and tabla. As soon as the performance was over the audience flocked to meet and congratulate him.
