In paintings and sculptures  of Krishna, he is often seen  holding a flute to his lips. But  this Hindu god’s connection to  music goes beyond the obvious.  In his book Krishna: The Playful  Divine, Pavan K Verma writes,  “The attraction of Krishna lies  precisely in the exuberance of  his multifaceted personality.”  Verma describes this personality  by describing Krishna’s many  avatars: the mischievous child  whom the cowherds adored, the  bewitching flautist who charmed  adolescent girls, and the sage  advisor whom every family wanted  on their side. 

“The godhood of Krishna was  never supposed to be put on a  remote and aloof pedestal,” writes  Verma, explaining why the blue god  has been such a big influence on  Indian classical music and dance. 

This fortnight features at  least two concerts in praise of  Krishna. Shyam Rang, organised  by the Sahachari Foundation,  will see front-ranking singer  and music producer Shankar  Mahadevan perform. Another  concert organised by Banyan  Tree events will host a vocal  recital by Mewati gharana singer  Jasraj. While Mahadevan will  perform traditional as well as  modern compositions in praise of  Krishna, Jasraj’s performance will  comprise mainly classical works. 

One of these is the bhajan  “Tum Bin Meri Kaun Khabar Le  Govardhan-giridhari” which was  popularised by Bai Sundarabai  in the early 1930s. The bhajan  describes a mythological story  in which the young Krishna  is believed to have saved a  community of cowherds from  torrential rain. After urging the  cowherds to worship  the Govardhan hill  instead of the rain god  Indra, the incensed  Indra is believed to  have unleashed heavy  rain on the cowherds’  settlement. Legend  has it that Krishna lifted  the Govardhan hill on  his little finger so the cowherds  could seek shelter underneath.  When Indra saw this, he accepted  Krishna's superiority. 

Jasraj believes that Krishna’s  influence on musical compositions  is just as powerful. He remembers  the time he was trying to compose  a bandish based on the god Shiva  in the raga Kedara. “I composed  the first line and in the second line  ‘Krishna’ entered stealthily. What  could I do? I let him occupy his  rightful place,” said Jasraj. 

The maternal instinct of  Krishna’s mother Yashoda – for  instance, the lullabies she would  sing to put him to bed – has also  been the subject of many songs  and dance ballets. A beautiful  traditional composition in the  raga Bilawal describes the  sentiments of mother Yashoda.  “Kavan Batariya Gailo Mai De Ho  Bata", describes her  anxious searching  for her son. “One  can sing it for hours  on end and invest it  with one’s own life  experience,” said  Padma Talwalkar,  a senior exponent  of the Gwalior and  Jaipur gharana. 

In many bandishes, or  compositions, the young Krishna  has been described as “langar”  or the one with an unsteady walk.  In one such bandish composed  in raga Todi, a maid urges  Krishna not to throw stones at  her water or milk-bearing pot,  singing, “Langar Kankariya Jee  Na Maro”. The song has been  immortalised by none other than  Bhimsen Joshi on one of his  earliest HMV recordings. Singers  of eminence such as Kumar  Gandharva and Sharadchandra  Arolkar have also rendered this  composition movingly. 

Krishna’s adolescent mischief  has also inspired songs like  “Dheet Mose Barjori Karat Mein  Kari Karu” composed in raga  Bhimpalasi. The song describes  Krishna’s pranks like blocking the  path of maids who are fetching  water, leering at them from behind  a tree, hiding their clothes when  they bathe in the river, and how  the maids complain about his  incorrigible ways. Well known  vocalist Malini Rajurkar often  sings this bandish in her concerts.  “It evokes an instant response  from the audience because of the  Krishna connection,” she said. 

Krishna is also the embodiment  of musicality thanks to his flute or  bansuri. Sociologists and cultural  anthropologists have described  the bansuri as a phallic symbol.  Vallabhacharya, the founder of  the Vaishnavaite Vallabh sect,  has written that Krishna’s flute  not only evoked passion in women  but even inanimate objects were  susceptible to its magic. This  flute-playing prowess has inspired  a bada (slow tempo) khayal in  the raga Asavari, titled “Ve Bhali  Bajayi Tune Bansuriya Banavari”.  Krishna’s own love for music  is summed up in a verse of the  Bhagwad Gita, in which he says  that he would choose as his abode  a place where his devotees sing.  The blue god will get to choose  between at least two abodes  this fortnight.  

Jasraj will perform on Sat Aug 4. Shankar Mahadevan will perform on Wed Aug 8.