Hindustani classical music: Banaras will miss sitarist Amarnath Mishra

On March 19, a great sitarist passed away – Amarnath Mishra, 73, of the Banaras school. His death, and indeed his life, did not feature in the national news, even though he was a musician of exceptional caliber and a maestro of the Banaras order. For he performed all over India and Europe, but Amarnathji sought little publicity and did little self-promotion, focusing instead on a private life of riaz and teaching in his city.

Amarnath Mishra was born and lived in the northern neighbourhood of Kabir Chaura, where many branches of his extended family of the Mishras, all performing artists of classical music and dance, have lived for generations. Kabir Chaura is where the legendary Ram Sahai (1780-1826) "founded" the Banaras gharana of tabla playing two centuries ago; more recently, it was the home of sarangi player Hanuman Mishra and tabla player Kishan Maharaj.

There are dozens of stories about these musicians’ rigorous riaz and training routines, their performance quirks and feats, and their passionate and playful personalities, both on and offstage. Over the past few decades, many Mishras have moved to Delhi and Mumbai for performance opportunities – the vocalist brothers Rajan and Sajan Mishra are an example.

Banaras does not offer the kinds of stages, payments and global exposure that Delhi and Mumbai do. Amarnath Mishra was one of the few individuals who did not move away, however.

In losing him, Banaras, and the entire world of Indian classical performing arts, has lost not only one of its finest artists, but also, one of its last guardians. Very few musicians of Amarnathjii’s generation remain in Banaras, and, many would agree, none with comparable insights, knowledge and skill. Given Banaras’ history and continuing reputation as a centre of excellence in music and dance, this fact deserves serious thought.

Amarnathji’s passing alerts us to the tenuousness of the Banaras school of music and dance, and, by extension, to other such "schools" all over India and to the evolving traditions of the classical arts more broadly. Put another way, it points to the need for more documentation, discussion and study on what we have had in the past, where we are now and the directions we are taking, as well as more patronage.

What ways do we have to learn from Amarnathji’s life and work, and to use our lessons in shaping Indian classical music and dance from here?

To say this is not to romanticise the past or to underplay the inevitability and, indeed, desirability of change. It is to point to the lack of mechanisms and platforms we have to recognise our selves as agents and to become educated and sensitive. These mechanisms and platforms could be in the form of archives, museums, libraries, seminars large and small, more stages, quality research in universities, and also much more value given to intellectual work among artists themselves generally. All of this would mean the opening up of questions and practices previously private, but only towards seeking new standards of excellence in the classical arts.

This work of opening up and seeking excellence is that of artists and academics, as well as individuals and organisations working for the arts. It is also that of the government, particularly in light of PM Narendra Modi’s promises to support the Banaras gharana.

It is typical, after the death of any established artist, for their disciples to organise concerts in their memory. But mere ceremonies are not true enough honour for artists like Amarnath Mishra.