Musical conversation

Was the meeting between Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia and Jethro Tull really music without boundaries? UMA MAHADEVAN-DASGUPTA ponders over the question.

REUTERS

"  Sitting on a park bench... "

AS the familiar bars of Jethro Tull's "Aqualung" filled the Homi Bhabha Auditorium at the southern tip of Mumbai, the audience breaks into cheers. Just outside, the tide was high, and the waves were breaking restlessly along the rocky shore. Inside, as John Lennon famously instructed, those in the cheap seats clapped, and the others rattled their jewellery.

A rock concert and not in the open air? Alas, with Mumbai's only real open-air music venue, Rang Bhavan, being served with notice for noise pollution, music concerts have to shift into closed halls like this one. While the Homi Bhabha auditorium is a splendid venue for a music concert, it cannot take Rang Bhavan's numbers.

Lovers of the aging British rock band's art and progressive rock music were trying for days, but there simply weren't enough tickets for everyone. No wonder, then, that another special appeal was made this evening to save Rang Bhavan. And surely this Page Three audience, which included Aamir Khan and Jackie Shroff, apart from Indian musicians like Rahul Sharma, Gary Lawyer and Sunitha Rao, would take up the appeal.

The evening's concert was part of "Music Without Boundaries", a two-nation joint tour by Jethro Tull with Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia. The idea emerged out of a correspondence between Rajeev Chaurasia and Ian Anderson, Tull's "Magic Flute", four years ago. After all, it is Chaurasia who has given the baansuri its divine voice; and it was Anderson who introduced the flute into rock music some four decades ago, and gave Jethro Tull its unique kind of music. A meeting of the two would be fascinating.

The evening began with Indian classical music. Chaurasia, accompanied by Vijay Ghate on the tabla, began the evening with the lovely raga Durga. A musical conversation between Chaurasia's flute and Ghate's tabla had the audience enthralled. After a short break, Jethro Tull appeared onstage, and rock magic began. They began with their late-1960s blues-jazz track "Nothing Is Easy", from their early album "Stand Up", followed by "Living With the Past".

The next piece, the slower, more thoughtful "Bombay Valentine" was inspired, said Anderson, by the ardour of the Valentine's Day messages that he read in a Bombay newspaper during their 1994 concert here.

"That was when it was still Bombay, not Mumbai," he remarked, adding: "After all, it's still Bollywood, it's not Mollywood, is it?" It was an evening of Tull classics: "Thick As A Brick", from the famous album of the same name that was the first rock album to be one continuous piece of music, and also a dense, complex poem.

And then there were other Tull standards: from "Benefit", the famous "With You There To Help Me", the song of the "backwards-played" flute.

Then there was their celebrated and very lovely "Bouree", which Anderson called a "cocktail-jazz" version of the classical J.S. Bach piece. "Because Ludwig Van Beethoven's too hard for us," he joked. And of course, "Too Old To Rock and Roll", proving once again that they're not. And then that fabulous piece, "Songs from the Wood".

As performers, unselfconscious and witty, Jethro Tull are a visual treat. With his metal flute, lusty singing, and "girly" acoustic guitar, Ian Anderson is a captivating sight. In his bandanna and colourful jacket, fey and portly at once, he prances about onstage, now in a one-legged stance for his flute-playing, now facing Martin Barre on the electric guitar, and now coming up front to the audience, with an energy that belies his 56 years (the Scottish-born musician was born in 1947, and has spent 41 years in rock). It was Anderson who took Tull away from its origins in blues-rock to explore other terrain. One recalls the title of their first album, "This Was", which stood for the temporary nature of their blues phase. "Blues were my favourite colour until I looked around and found another song that I felt like singing," Anderson said.

Interesting trivia: on the Tull website is an authoritative Indian-food guide written by Anderson for novices; the Indian connection continues in the form of his Bengal cat named Bhajee. No wonder then that Anderson is comfortable with the Mumbai audience, which is "easy tonight"...

And he invites them for `a couple more songs, a couple of drinks at the bar, and then off to bed - don't worry, Andy's paying.' The band is off to Britain later tonight for some practice for their imminent tour there, but Anderson and his wife are headed down south for four days on the beach at Goa.

Jethro Tull is not only Ian Anderson, even though he is its most widely known face. It is also made up of drummer Doane Perry, bass guitarist Jonathan Noyce, Andrew Giddings on keyboards, and of course Martin Barre on electric guitar.

In an interview with Tull guitarist Martin Barre, Classic Rock Revisited calls Barre "one of the most unsung guitar heroes of all time". The 1946-born Barre began studying not music but surveying and architecture; he then left college in the 1960s to play saxophone and flute with a touring soul band.

By 1968, he had moved to the electric guitar when he first met Tull. When Tull guitarist Mick Abrahams left the group in the late 1960s, Barre joined the group, and that was the beginning of his 35-year relationship with the art and progressive rock band. Not a man for the "blistering solo", he has said in the same interview.

The evening ended with an impromptu improvisation by Chaurasia and Jethro Tull, during which Vijay Ghate on the tabla and Tull drummer Doane Perry kept the audience engaged with an extended musical dialogue.

Was this really a celebration of "music without boundaries"? Well, it was surely an interesting experiment; and may there be many more. It was also a rare chance for Tull lovers to hear their band live.

brinda : Namaste Panditji.Why do we have more of private concerts rather than public concerts since it deprives the ordinary music lover of hearing you particulary in places like blore.
Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia : We never have more private concerts than public. We are here to please public so sure we have more public concerts.

Vibrations of the Wind

Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia Comes to Kresge

Hariprasad Chaurasia, Flutist

Kresge Auditorium

Sunday, September 23, 2001

Sunday’s performance by classical Indian flutist Hariprasad Chaurasia in Kresge Auditorium was beyond description. It was genuine Hari Prasad, which means “Blessings of the Lord” in Sanskrit. Chaurasia’s god-given talent and his consummate artistry made every moment spent at Kresge worthwhile. MITHAS (MIT Heritage of the Arts of South Asia), in cooperation with Sangam and New England Hindu Temple, organized the show.

Chaurasia is the foremost flutist in India and one of the best in the world. At the age of fifteen, enamored by the simplicity of this instrument, he decided to abandon vocal training to pursue the art of this wind instrument under the guidance of Pandit Bholanath. After a tenure of five years with the All India Radio at Cuttack, he was transferred to All India Radio, Bombay. It was there that he entered the most significant phase of his career, under the guidance of the Sur Bahar virtuoso Shrimati Annapurna Devi, the illustrious daughter of the all time great teacher and musician, Ustaad Allauddin Khan of the Maihar school of music. Her influence not only gave his music depth and dimension, but also inspired him to pursue a new, unrestrained performing career.

Today, accompanied by Vijay Ghate on the tabla, Chaurasia set off the evening with a rendition of the Raag Bhimpalas. On being asked why he chose this Raag, Chaurasia replied that “only a raag as emotional and playful as Bhimpalas could mitigate the pain that a country as beautiful as America is now facing.”

Indian Hindustani Music is built on raags or scales -- each invoking different emotions, set at different times, and having their own identity. A raga is a melodic scale, consisting of notes from the basic seven known as sa, re, ga, ma pa, dha, and ni synonymous with c, d, e, f, g, a, and b of the Western classical scale. Apart from sa and pa which are constant, the other notes may be in sharp or flat. Depending on the notes included in it, each raga acquires a distinct character. The form of the raga is also determined by the particular pattern of ascent and descent of the notes, which may not be strictly linear. Melody is built up by improvising and elaborating within the given scale. The level of improvisation depends on the acumen and ability of the performer.

Bhimpalas is a Kafi thaat raaga that is always a challenge to perform. It has a serious intent, and is set for the mood of the end to an afternoon. The meditative quality of the raag with Madhyam (F on the Western Scale) as the resting place is blended with the soulful transition from Pancham (G on the Western Scale) to Komal Nishaad (B sharp on the Western scale). This combination of notes, when played skillfully, can bring about a sense of bliss that is stronger than the graveness it symbolizes. Due to this nature, Chaurasia began the recital with around an hour’s rendition of this raag. This piece, although dexterously presented by Chaurasia, was a dash too serious to capture one’s complete attention.

However, the mood livened up when Chaurasia broke into a enthusiastic performance of the spry Raag Hamsadhvani. Hamsadhwani or “Voice of the Swan,” a raag having its roots in southern India, enraptured the audience’s heart and soul. Its life and joy filled the air with excitement, and Chaurasia’s buildup of notes was such that the audience’s enthusiasm so cumulated that they broke into a standing ovation when Chaurasia reached his crescendo.

On popular demand, Chaurasia then performed Raag Pahadi, in which he played a jugalbandi or musical dialogue with Vijay Ghate, his companion on the tabla. This is what I would call the heart of Indian Music -- the ability to create new melodies based on the moment. Chaurasia gave an amazing display of this skill, making each one of us appreciate the joy that music can elicit.

In all, the concert this evening was one that made us understand and experience the joy that music can evoke. As always, the dexterity of Chaurasia’s fingers on the bamboo flute enlivened many music lovers.

Here's what Wentink has to say about the unique musical collaboration..

Harp with flute.. Really unusual combination, isn't it?

It's an honour to play with Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia. A couple of years ago, I got a scholarship from the Dutch government. One of my first projects was to travel to India. I got in touch with Chaurasia through a common friend and that was the start of a great journey. He has been an amazing teacher. I really love the sound of the instruments blending together.

Every time I play with him, I learn so much! How do you like India?

I love India, the atmosphere and especially the music. Being trained as a classical harpist, this was another beautiful world of sound. I wanted to combine the two worlds. The result was the collaboration between flute and harp.

Is the harp easier to play solo?

For me, playing solo, or with another musician, or with a whole orchestra, are all different, but not comparable in grades of difficulty. I love playing solo and with other musicians as well.

It's fantastic to be on stage with different people and make music together. It asks for different dimensions when you play solo. The concentration is on another angle.

And how is it to play with a group?

With a group, you listen, react and the result of the performance is the energy and music of all the people on stage. One is not more difficult than another. It does depend on whom I play with. But I love the challenge of it all. Do you think there's an audience for classical music now?

Netherlands has a tradition and history of classical music.

There are many concert halls and `chamber music' with small groups playing together.

I feel lucky to live in a country with a rich cultural background even though, economic slowdown, of late, has put a brake on some cultural events. It is a challenge to attract younger people to classical music. It demands creativity and conceptualising new of ways to make it approachable.

I feel, music, in general, has the power to cross borders and age. What's special about Indian classical music?
I love the way you get the freedom to improvise and the manner in which it is connected to certain moods and periods of the day. It makes it so clear how important a single note can be.

How do you see classical art forms growing?

For me, it is about creativity, about experiments, being free and combining different musical backgrounds with each other, and most important, celebrating music and the arts. I'm looking forward to coming back to India, specially to Mumbai again

Hyderabad nahi aane se mazza nahi aata, says bansurimaestro Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia who is looking forward to the Shiv-Hari jugalbandi to be held in Hyderabad on Saturday

On Hyderabad

I love performing in the city because there are so many music lovers here who appreciate good music. Hyderabad nahi aane se mujhe maaza nahi aata. People here listen to both North Indian and South Indian music, but in other South cities, they are not too familiar with North Indian music. I have been coming to Hyderabad to perform from many years. I remember going to have dosa and idli at Poorna Tiffins. I love biryani and would love to go to Paradise and Bawarchi to try the biryani there. Whenever I would come here, I would take back loads of mirchi ka achaar.