PanditRavishankar

[gobilalitha]

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PANDITJI TURNS 90. I am short of words to praise the legend. The Hindu does it . gobilalitha


Lord of the strings

Pandit Ravi Shankar, who built the East-West musical bridge, recently turned 90. The legendary sitarist on the future of classical music


Forever young Pandit Ravi Shankar: ‘I forget my age wherever I perform'

A singular phenomenon in the classical music worlds of the East and West, the legendary sitarist, composer, teacher and writer Pandit Ravi Shankar is known for his pioneering work in taking Indian music to the West.

Always ahead of his times, he has written concertos for sitar and symphony orchestras, violin-sitar compositions. The world renowned sitarist has also composed extensively for films such as “Charly”, “Gandhi” and “Appu Trilogy” and ballets. He has been conferred innumerable awards, including the Bharat Ratna.

Living a life submerged in music, Panditji recently turned 90. I had an opportunity to talk to him at his Chanakyapuri (New Delhi) residence.

What is the secret of his sustained creativity?

“My audience! I forget my age wherever I perform, India or abroad. I have tried to present our music without destroying its character and ethos. Normally you take a raga and play it for an hour or sometimes more. But when I started playing in the West in 1950s, they said Indian music is very esoteric and long. So, I began presenting the music in a way they could understand. I would explain what a raga is and its nuances. I did play aalap-jod, but not very long. I faced a lot of criticism back in India. People said I don't perform pure music, but my efforts to popularise Indian classical music did pay off,” smiles the nonagenarian.

Fashion of fusion

On the growing trend of fusion, he says, “ “It's a controversial topic but I shall give you my view. My guru Ustad Allauddin Khan was very traditional but he experimented a lot. When my brother Uday Shankar took him abroad, Timir Baran, who was the music director in my brother's dance company, would play a few classical pieces on the sarod during the interludes. But my guru tried the Western violin in Dartington Hall, Prague and their folk music on their folk instruments. His creativity influenced me a lot. My first opportunity came as the director of AIR's Vadya-Vrinda, later I did collaborations with Western musicians but the ‘fusion' word was not there. I played with symphony orchestras, but instead of jamming, I depended on my own inspiration while experimenting with them.”

On the present scenario of classical music, Panditji says, “We are going through a fantastic time. The young generation is very receptive and music is spreading fast, but the guidance of a guru does matter.” Stressing on commitment to the art, he continues, “There is no point learning music if you only have interest and not the requisite talent. Riyaaz of 14 to 15 hours is immaterial if you don't have true passion and dedication. I have observed that students in the West are more serious and hard working. There is no dearth of talent here, but youngsters should take music seriously and allow themselves to be groomed properly. I was concerned about the grim future of classical music a few years ago, but I'm hopeful now that it would never die.”

MANJARI SINHA
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[hariharan]

Thanks to Gobilalitha for bringing out the news item to this rasikas forum and about Pandit Ravishankarji. Panditji is a great musician respected by every one. Our pranams to this ever- time- great musician.

I happened to listen to a rare raag called "Mohankauns" which is said to be created by Panditji on-the-spot when he was giving a concert in AIR in 1948 immediately after the demise of Mahatma Gandhi. He had created this rag by adding an extra note G3 to the rag 'Malkauns' ie. Malkauns + G3. It is told that Panditji named the raga as Mohankauns by taking out the word "Mohan" from the name Mohan chand Karan chand Gandhi, to show his respectful homage to the father of our nation.

The singer is Pandit Anoop Mishra-Raag Mohankauns
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmrCHokwUno (Part-1)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nl7hFEyO ... re=related (Part-2)

Hariharan