The sky is overcast with darkish clouds. The intermittent heavy showers haven’t dampened Mumbai’s celebratory spirit. Rows of stalls alongside the roads promoting idols teem with individuals at the same time as dhol tasha pathaks (percussion troupes) play vigorously throughout their annual Ganesh Utsav outing. But away from all the festive frenzy, the soothing notes of the bansuri permeate Vrindaban Gurukul in Versova. Evening walkers cease by the two-decade-old giant orange constructing to bow earlier than its lovely prayer room with a glass facade.
As you open the gate, you see Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia sitting close to the entrance, sipping tea, with the bansuri positioned on his lap. He greets you with a heat smile. A placing oil portrait of him, made by one among his admirers from Turkey, hangs behind. The partitions of the adjoining spacious classroom have extra work depicting the maestro’s many moods. There can be a bust of Ustad Allauddin Khan, the legend of the Maihar gharana and father of the inimitable Annapurna Devi, whose black-and-white {photograph} adorns the observe area.
For Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia taking part in the flute is like having a dialog with Krishna. The maestro in the prayer room of his Vrindaban Gurukul in Mumbai.
| Photo Credit:
EMMANUAL YOGINI
Looking at the image, Pt. Chaurasia, who turned 85 this July, recollects how underneath guruma’s (Annapurna Devi) steerage he made the bansuri, related to the pastoral custom, reproduce each classical nuance. He seamlessly included the alaap, jod and jhala of the Senia-Dhrupad ang. It gave a brand new tonal high quality to the instrument.
Pt. Chaurasia slowly walks up to occupy the silk-wrapped seat on a raised platform. Years haven’t diminished his uncanny skill to watch over the actions in the gurukul. He appears to be the grasp of all he surveys.
Vrindaban is a standard gurukul the place younger learners dwell and prepare in music for free. Reorienting itself to face modern challenges, the gurukul (a second one was established in Bhubaneshwar in 2010) has additionally been providing on-line programs and organises workshops and interactive programmes.
Vrindaban Gurukul in Mumbai.
| Photo Credit:
Chitra Swaminathan
“I am delighted to see more girls coming to learn. Since I learnt it the hard way, spending almost three years convincing guruma to teach me, I wanted to start gurukuls to make training accessible to young enthusiasts,” says Pt. Chaurasia at the same time as you see three ladies busy with their riyaz. Pico, the resident pet canine, sits in entrance of them quietly listening to the meends and gamaks.
Pt. Chaurasia, who used to journey for most a part of the yr, performing almost 200 live shows, and educating at worldwide conservatories, now divides his time between the two gurukuls. “Bahut ghoom aur bajaa liya, ab baitke sununga bachon ko (enough of travelling and concerts, I now want to listen to these youngsters),” says the veteran, talking softly, giving hints of fatigue due to previous age. But all through the 45-minute dialog, he by no means fails to make a degree on issues, together with politics, he feels strongly about.
“Whether artistes, politicians or institutions, I see a fear of commitment in all,” he says. “You set out to do something but don’t want to finish or achieve it. I tell my students to first tune their mind and then the instrument. If I had not done so, I would have remained in the akhada (wrestling ring),” he provides.
Pt. Chaurasia watching his college students carry out at Vrindaban Gurukul in Mumbai.
| Photo Credit:
VIJAY BATE
Though amongst the few Indian classical musicians who’ve at all times had sell-out live shows each in the nation and overseas, Pt. Chaurasia doesn’t belong to any hoary gharana or a lineage that may be traced down a number of generations. “My father was a professional wrestler and wanted me to follow suit. I did so for a brief while to make him happy. I wondered of what use was this show of physical strength. I felt music was a better way to gain recognition. Every morning, on the pretext of going to the temple, I would go to a friend’s house to practise. The radio was my first guru,” he says with fun.
Two completely unconnected worlds, but Pt. Chaurasia made the transition from one to the different, and the way!
“I owe it to the akhada for preparing me to fight life’s battles. It taught me to handle both the rise and the fall.”
Hariprasad Chaurasia and Shivkumar Sharma with George Harrison of the Beatles
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Pt. Chaurasia labored as a stenographer to assist the household earlier than shifting to Cuttack to be part of All India Radio. After just a few years, he was transferred to Bombay, the metropolis that turned his goals into actuality. “It is here that I met my dear friend and creative partner, Pt. Shivkumar Sharma. I also began composing for films. It gave me the opportunity to experiment with music. Though my heart belongs to classical music, I have always enjoyed working across styles and genres. That’s how I collaborated with John McLaughlin, Jan Garbarek and Ian Anderson.”
For Pt. Chaurasia taking part in the flute is like having a dialog with Krishna. “It is a very physical and immersive experience because you must create the sound first within your body. I often feel the air comes straight from my heart, carrying with it my vulnerabilities and strengths.”
The maestro in his youthful days
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Like the iconic French flautist Jean-Pierre Rampal, who’s credited with taking the flute to nice ranges of recognition as a solo classical instrument, Pt. Chaurasia too has paved the approach for future soloists. Much of additionally it is due to the instrument’s flexibility, yielding to numerous musical concepts and genres — classical, jazz, pop, blues and extra. In Rampal’s fingers, wrote American music and dance critic Allen Hughes, “an instrument that until recently was regarded as frail has become hearty, lively and brilliant.”
The Indian maestro has completed the identical together with his extraordinary virtuosity. He combines self-discipline and freedom, two contrasting components, in his strategy. “Master the technique, and then set yourself free to find your distinct expression,” says Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia briefly taking part in raag Desh. The dulcet sound of the bansuri echoes by way of Vrindaban. As you step out of the gurukul, a sculpture of Krishna on one among the outer partitions appear to point out the intricate bond between him and the flute’s famend exponent.