‘O Gaanewali' is an ode to powerful female voices from the past

The Hindu

04-06-2025

'O Gaanewali' is an ode to those legendary women singers who broke the glass ceiling and engaged with art beyond gender divide. Artistes such as Rasoolan Bai, Gauhar Jaan and Begum Akhtar showed the world how women can pursue their passion without being bogged down by societal norms.
'O Gaanewali, a show that celebrates the beauty of thumri, dadra and ghazal, will launch its first EP — O Gaanewali Session 1. The EP will be released at a concert in Mumbai's Royal Opera House on June 7. Having performed 55 shows across India over the past three years, the team behind O Gaanewali series felt it was time to put out a recording. The very first song will be Mirza Ghalib's ghazal 'Muddat hui hai yaar ko' , which will be followed by a thumri later. 'O Gaanewali' plans to release songs every fortnight.
It is conceptualised and written by Avanti Patel, a Hindustani vocalist, who features along with singer Rutuja Lad in the series. The concert includes theatrical elements such as storytelling. Musical terms will be demonstrated and explained in a conversational mix of Hindi and English. The shows are directed by theatre personalities Mallika Singh and Meghana AT.
Avanti and Rutuja are trained under senior Hindustani vocalist Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande. They duo also carries the legacy of Ashwini's aunt, Sarla Bhide, a senior disciple of Shobha Gurtu. Says Avanti: 'It helps that Rutuja and I have the same guru in Ashwini tai, in that, our approach to music is similar.'
The idea for the EP, she reveals, originated during the lockdown as part of a series initiated by Harkat Studios. O Gaanewali was presented in March 2022 at the Experimental Theatre of the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA). Soon, offers started coming in, but Avanti wanted the show to be interactive, and educate new listeners about the nuances of thumri. She says, 'My knowledge of theatre was limited, but Mallika and Meghanahelped bring out that element and work withmusicians and the script.' The show was put together after researching the lives and music of legendary women artistes. 'We wanted to talk about their hardships and challenges too,' adds Avanti.
Rutuja, who had earlier learnt from Jaipur-Atrauli gharana doyenne, Dhondutai Kulkarni, says she had her inhibitions, but quickly adapted to and began enjoying the new format. She explains, 'As a classical singer, I was accustomed to the traditional style, where weannounce a piece and sing the composition. The directors helped me overcome that.'
The theme of the shows keeps changing to add some excitement to the presentation. O Gaanewali has had specials for Holi, monsoons and songs of Shobha Gurtu to mark her centenary year, along with love songs and ghazals among others. Avanti says this helps audience come back, as they know they will get something different each time. She adds, 'By changing the basic theme, one will look for songs that have not been performed before. At times, we have to learn and practise something totally new, because it goes with the flow. But that is where the joy lies .'
Rutuja also shares that she sought the guidance of singer Shubha Joshi, a student of Shobha Gurtu,on how best she should approach certain thumris. She also speaks of learning the Hori ghazal 'Mere hazrat ne Madine mein manayi Holi', popularised by Gauhar Jaan. 'There are horis songs sung for Holi, and there are ghazals. But Hori ghazals are rare and require a specific expression,' she points.
As the shows are attended by different kinds of listeners — purists and uninitiated, Avanti says, 'We structure it in such a way that it appeals to both. Hence, we make it interactive. We are happy to see more youngsters in the audience.'
The idea of releasing an EP came after many members of the audience asked details about specific songs.'We would tell them to hear a recording of the original singer, such as Begum Akhtar or Shobha Gurtu. Gradually, we thought of recording a few songs that we performed, some in a studio, and one of them is a live recording,' shares Avanti.
For Avanti, O Gaanewali is a flagship project, as she spends much of her time conceptualising new shows. She is also into composing and is currently composing music for a theatre production. Rutuja, concurrently is into performing classical concerts, with her recent one being in Kolhapur at a Mahotsav dedicated to vocalist Manik Bhide, Ashwini's mother and guru.
Athe forthcoming concert, at Mumbai's Royal Opera House, the duo will be accompanied by Akshay Jadhav (tabla), Apoorva Petkar (harmonium) and Sandeep Mishra (sarangi). They will present a repertoire of thumri and allied forms, besides some ghazals.