Jaunpuri fascination

Any listener worth their salt has experienced periods of obsession--when they can think of nothing but one song, one piece, one raga. Well, the last few days have been Jaunpuri days for me. I have been reviving compositions from my notebook, listening to online recordings, and picking up film songs--all in the raga Jaunpuri. Here are two pieces that I mustered the courage to record.

Jaunpuri Chhota Khayal in Tritaal. There is no tabla, but I was trying to follow the tritaal cycle as I sang.

My attempt at Geeta Dutt's brilliant Kabir bhajan: Ghunghat Ke Pat Khol from the film Jogan

Continuing with Rama's earlier post about learning from a guru/teacher vs. learning through any other method--including recordings... I had learned the chhota khayal (Sajan Gare Laag) from my teacher in India in a very conventional manner--writing down the words and learning the melody by ear and rote. The song I learned from recording--again in a conventional manner. I downloaded the lyrics and sang them numerous times with Geeta Dutt's recording. But it was more than just Geeta Dutt's recording. I also recorded myself and played it back, cringing at my ineptness and marking places where I could do better. There is yet a huge scope for improvement but the opportunity for self-criticism did help...

Recordings are the medium through which film songs reach us and that would be the obvious way way to learn them. Where as we are taught to consider classical music as sacred--difficult to learn except through face-to-face (or telephonic or virtual!) interactions with a living teacher/guru. Is that why it is easier for us to accept learning a film song in this manner rather than a classical composition?