About PMN Sangeet Gurukul - Mewati Gharana in JASRANGI, TC 19/1142, POOJAPPURA P.O, Thiruvananthapuram

Pandit Motiram Narayan Sangeet Gurukul (PMNSG),India, is a registered voluntary organization with the main objective of popularizing Khayal Gayaki of Mewati Gharana & promoting Indian Classical Music tradition and rich cultural heritage of India, constituted in 1990, Sangeet Martand Padma Vibhushan Pandit Jasraj ji, as Patron and Pt. Ramesh Narayan ji as Chairman.

The music of Mewati Gharana is Bhava Pradhan. Its prominent feature lies in the importance it gives in developing the mood of the raga through notes forming it, at the same time, highlighting the meaning of the lyrics. The singing style avoids elongating

In the year 1990, Pt. Ramesh Narayan,senior disciple of Parampoojya Guruji Padma Vibhushan Sangeet Martand Pt. Jasraj ji, Maestro of Mewati Gharana, started a music school, "Tansen Sangeeth Vidyalay" at Thiruvananthapuram for the promotion of Hindustani Classical Music, which was later renamed as "Pandit Motiram Narayan Sangeet Vidyalay" by Parampoojya Guruji Pandit Jasraj ji himself, during his visit in 1996. The school which upholds the spirit of the ethnic Gurukula education system, aims at grooming Khayal singers in Mewati Gharana style of Hindustani Classical Music and is successful in preparing them for the various All India Examinations in Hindustani Classical music conducted by Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal, Mumbai. It has been offering free stay, education and training to the economically backward young talents since then. In an attempt to popularize and promote this style of music, it has been conducting several public concerts and workshops on Hindustani music.


Mewati Gharana

Mewati Gharana, to which Ramesh Narayan's Parampara belongs to, has its roots in the Mewat region of Rajasthan. The fountainhead of Mewati Gharana, Ustad Ghagge Nazir Khan, born in Birla village in the Mewat region, was the court musician of Maharaja Jaswant Singh of the kingdom of Jodhpur in the Mewat region. Here is the story behind the birth of Mewati Gharana, which happened in the middle of the nineteenth century, according to historical records.

Pandit Motiram ji remained the lone heir to Mewati legacy. When Pandit Natthulal ji passed away, Motiram's education was not complete. It is said that even after his death, therefore, Pandit Nathula ji returned repeatedly as an angel to whisper to Motiramji the remaining part of his education. Thus he continued to guide Motiram ji and shower his blessing on the family. Motiramji in turn passed his knowledge on to his brother, Pandit Jyothiram ji and sons Pandit Maniram ji and Pratap Narayan ji.

Parampoojya Guruji Sangeet Martand Pandit Jasraj ji
Pandit Jasraj ji was the youngest child of Pandit Motiram ji and had only a brief initiation into vocal music by his father who died when he was three years old. In order to lighten the burden of family responsibilities that were thrust upon the brothers due to the sudden demise of their father, Pandit Jasraj ji had to opt for Tabla under the training of his brother Pandit Pratap Narayan ji, though he wished to be a vocalist. However, at the age of fourteen, he stopped playing an accompanying artist and decided to sing, rebelling against the humiliating treatment given to accompanying artists in those days. He then underwent intensive tutelage under his eldest brother, Sangeeth Mahamahopadhyaya Pandit Maniram ji. Thus began his quest for the divine music, which together with his relentless pursuit and single minded devotion to music has made him what he is now, the contemporary doyen of North Indian Vocals, Sangeet Martand Pandit Jasraj ji.

Pandit Natthulalji's blessings continued to shower on Parampoojya Guruji Pandit Jasrajji also. Once he even came to Pandit Jasrajji in his dreams to teach him a complete bandish in Goonji Kanada, which Parampoojya Guruji did not know. Therefore Pandit Jasrajji's family continues to rever him as an angelic family guardian and honour him with holy offerings and pooja at all special occasions.

Numerous are the awards and titles bestowed upon Parampoojya Guruji Pandit Jasrajji, and many have also been instituted in his name. Endowed with a rich soulful voice, which transits effortlessly over all three and a half octaves, perfect diction, clarity in sur, and extreme tunefulness, he generates a very sublime emotional quality in his music. Pandit Jasrajji infact has contributed to the resurgence of an interest in the lyrics of the Khayal,which has been missing in many styles. He is also being regarded as a great classical singer who has carefully nurtured the return of Bhakti to music. Thus, this proud legacy, which has been perpetuated for the last one and half centuries by the great Gurus, has been propagated and popularized by Parampoojya Guruji Sangeet Martand, Pandit Jasraj ji. Some of his well known disciples are Girish Wazalwar, Chandra Sekhar Swami, Tripti Mukherjee, Sweta Jhaveri, Rattan Mohan Sharma, Sanjeev Abhyankar, Radha Raman, Guruji Ramesh Narayanan and Kala Ramnath.

The Gayaki
The music of Mewati Gharana is Bhava Pradhan. Its prominent feature lies in the importance it gives in developing the mood of the raga through notes forming it, at the same time, highlighting the meaning of the lyrics. The singing style avoids elongating the words for the sake of rhythm, but uses Tans and Sargams where words fall short. Sapat Tan and Merkhand are employed in its ornamentation.

Today, a new generation of Vocalists is being groomed in Mewati Gharana style by Parampoojya Guruji's disciples who are spread all over the World and are determined to preserve and popularize this distinguished style of singing. Due to Parampoojya Guruji's musical genius and the standards he has set on his disciples ,there is no uncertainty that Mewati tradition would thrive and reach even greater heights in the years to come.

Mewati Swathi Gharana
Sri Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma was the Maharaja of the state of Travancore, in India. Besides being an able ruler, he was a patron of music and a musician himself. He encouraged both broad systems of Indian music, Hindustani and Carnatic music, though he was essentially a connoisseur of the Carnatic music tradition. He is credited with composing over 400 compositions in Carnatic music as well as Hindustani music. In fact, after learning about master composer Swathi Thirunal, Pandit Jasrajji was so impressed that he created and contributed Mewati Swathi Gharana to Kerala with the aim of popularising Swathi Thirunal's rarely sung khayals, on 18th April 2008, with the presence and permission of the Cultural Minister of Kerala M.A.Baby during the Maharaja Swathi Thirunal Award Ceremony. Pandit Jasrajji also performed some khayals of Maharaja Swathi Thirunal on the same day.