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'Deewana banana hai to diwana bana de...' (make me insane if you please...) with the soulful strains of this gazal sung by Akhtaribai Faizabadi, now renowned as Begum Akhtar, began Pandit Jasraj's musical journey. He was six then and spellbound. All he knew at the time was that he wanted to sing. So he spent most of his schooling time listening to the gramophone in the tiny teashop strategically positioned by fate on his way to school. Ironically, after a brief initiation into vocal music by his father, Pandit Jasraj opted for the tabla under the training of Pandit Pratapnarayan. This was merely a decision taken to create an additional means of livelihood in order to lighten the burden of family responsibilities that were thrust by the sudden demise of Pandit Jasraj's father. However, at the age of fourteen rebelling against the humiliating treatment given to accompanying artists, young Jasraj vowed to never to be an accompanist. He decided to sing.
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