Sujeewa Ranasinghe:

Principal exponent of Esraj

In this week’s column, we examine the role played by the Esraj as a solo instrument in Hindustani tradition of music and versatile Esraj player and academic Sujeewa Ranasinghe’s contribution to the field of music as an Esraj player. Before examining the contribution Sujeewa Ranasinghe has made to the arena of music in Sri Lanka, it is pertinent to explore, briefly, the role that Esraj plays in Hindustani tradition of music.

The Esraj also known as Indian harp is a string instrument popular in North, Central and East regions of India in general and in Bengal (Bangladesh, West Bengal) and Tripura in particular. In structure, it is somewhat similar to the Sitar, Sarangi and Dilruba. Primarily, Esraj is an accompanying instrument and is widely used in Rabindra Sangeet singing. However, Esraj is used as a solo-instrument in interpreting Hindustani classical music in Vishnupur Gharana (School of music).

Some of the best known exponents of Esraj are Pandit Ranadhir Ray who died in 1988, Kalipada Ghoshal (1906-1995) and Prof. Buddha Dev Das. It was the favourite instrument of the spiritual Master Sri Chinmove who used it as a meditation tool. Among the major Gharanas of Esraj are first Benares, second Benares, Ghaya, Karmath Kukkupkhan Garana, Imdad Khani Garana, Vishnupur Gharana and Santhiniketan Gharana.

Principal exponent of Esraj

Having had his primary education at Subharathi Junior School in Kuliyapitiya and then, secondary education at Kuliyapitiya Madyamaha Vidyalaya (Central College, Kuliyapitiya), Sujeewa Ranasinghe developed an interest in aesthetic subjects earlier on in his life, as many other students in Kuliyapitiya.

A significant aspect of the educational and cultural environment of Kuliyapitiya is that it gives impetus to the flourishing of interests in aesthetic subjects both on the part of students and parents. Kuliyapitiya has produced remarkable personalities in diverse areas of arts and culture such as W.A. Abeysinghe, George Pallewatte, D.G.B.M Senaratne, and Somapala Senerath.

Although Sujeewa did not consider music as a major interest in life, only as an important part of life, his perception had changed dramatically, unknowingly making a watershed in his life, when his newly appointed teacher of music offered him a strange instrument of music. Later, Sujeewa came to know that it was an Esraj that teacher offered to him. However, he had expressed his doubts over the future of the instrument. The gifted teacher allayed his fears by playing the Esraj, instilling in him a life-long interest in the instrument.

Competition

Having practised the Esraj for a considerable period of time, Sujeewa participated in the all island Esraj competition held in 1988 and played the Rag Peelu on Esraj. Sujeewa won the first place at the competition defeating a student who held the position for three consecutive years. By 1991, Sujeewa entered the University of Visual and Performing Arts to read his degree in Music. Although he majored in vocal (singing), he selected Esraj as a major and vocal as a subsidiary subject for his degree.

The perception of Esraj in the field of popular music was negative. For instance, by that time, Esraj had not been introduced to commercial performance at leading five-star hotels in Sri Lanka and in fact, some of the groups who undertook contract for conducting such performances considered having an Esraj in the orchestra a marked disadvantage. One of the significant contributions that Sujeewa made by introducing Esraj for mainstream popular music, was to change the negative perception of Esraj.

The breakthrough he made in the hospitality industry encouraged Sujeewa to venture into other arenas in music such as stage drama, teledramas and film music to effectively use Esraj, enriching repertoire of music. Working with diverse musicians such as Premasiri Khemadasa, Rohana Weerasinghe and Navaratne Gamage, Sujeewa Ranasinghe has, over the years, changed the face of applied music. Particularly in Artistic films, he has contributed to the composition of music by sharing his knowledge of music with musicians.

Teacher

Following the footsteps of his teachers such as D.G.B.M Senaratne, Sudath Wickremasinghe, and Sujeewa became a teacher at the University of Visual and Performing Arts. Sujeewa’s role as a teacher should be looked at against the backdrop of a void in the Sri Lankan contemporary field music for Esraj.

His knowledge and practice of Esraj was vastly expanded during his postgraduate studies at Visva-Bharati University in Shantiniketan where further mastered the instrument under the tutelage of legendary teachers such as Prof. Sri Buddha Dev Das, a major exponent of Esraj, Sunil Kaviraj and Abir Sigh Kanguara, a student of Pandit Ranadhir Ray. Among other things, he found that the Esraj has been evolved into solo-instrument changing even the physical form of the instrument.

According to Sujeewa, some of the drawbacks in promoting Esraj in Sri Lankan are unfair distribution of resources in the system of education and maintaining the standards in both teaching and even the instrument. For instance, there are some instances where substandard Esraj has been used for competitions and the veteran teachers of Esraj should get involved in academic seminar and workshops as resource persons.