The Craft and the Artist - 2: Submission

The stage had few dignitaries seated, and an anchor introduced them to the audience.

Among the distinguished members sat Smt. Sukanya Shankar, wife of Late Pt. Ravi Shankar; others included music historians, writers, artists and the convenor.

The concert was in celebration of Pt. Ravi Shankar’s birth centenary year; the evening was dedicated to his work, influence on global music stage followed by a performance from Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and Pt. Bickram Ghosh, both disciples of the late maestro.

The mood of the evening took shape when Smt. Sukanya Shankar in her remark spoke that her life can be summed up as that thread that binds the flowers in a garland, and derives its perfume from that of the flowers; the flowers represented the greatness of the late virtuoso.

The documentary

The stage got cleared for a short audio visual on the life of Pt. Shankar released during his memorial service.

It is an inspiring tale of a man who rose with an unflinching devotion to his music, to his teacher from the age of 13 to taking Indian Classical music to the world stage.

The panoramic journey from India to the West, from UN Concert with revered violinist Yehudi Menuhin, Beatle George Harrison, from World Leaders to the countless awards, honorary doctorates from Harvard and New England conservatory, transport you into his world.

At the last concert, he plays with an oxygen mask to an enthralled audience. With his characteristic humility and humour, he announced with a smile an audience that needed no introduction: “Hi, I am Ravi Shankar.”

As the credits rolled, I could see some moist eyes and significant many had tucked their phones away in mute awe.

The performance

The anchor reappeared and got the audience attention to the key attraction for the evening.

The short AV had captured glimpses of Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt practising with the maestro among his disciples.

My memory jogged back to my school days when my father announced one morning that an Indian had won the prestigious Grammy Award the previous evening. It was Pt. Bhatt winning in Best World Music category and caught the country’s attention.

The Mohan Veena that he improvised using an acoustic guitar with a gourd became synonymous with his name, can be treated as an invention.

For the longest time I believed that the Mohan Veena is derived from his middle name; the true origins of the instrument dates back to 1940s.

As he screwed the gourd to the neck of his modified acoustic guitar, my pulse raced in excitement to hear the sound.

Pt. Bickram Ghosh on tabla, also a disciple of the late Guruji as they reverently called Pt. Shankar, sat beside and directed the sound engineers along with Pt. Bhatt.

“I am delighted to be here to play in memory of my Guru, and I seek your blessings to start this performance.”

The humble words from a blissfully serene Pt. Bhatt left the audience in anticipation.

As he plucked into the chords for his alap, the initial sounds of the raga brought some immediate smile on several faces.

The raga composition that has a slow measured start created a distinctly beautiful sound of guitar chords that intricately exchange with sitar strings. As he builds the tempo, Pt. Ghosh joins with his craft.

In the next 70 minutes the audience is treated to some great sounds from Indian music tradition, with generous improvisation thrown in.

The higher tempo that had audience in raptures also had its interludes, with slow rhythmic to a point of just few strums.

While absorbed in the music, I observed the two artists.

Younger of the two, Pt. Ghosh not only gave ample lead to senior Pt. Bhatt, there was great reverence to the raga they were both invested in.

In the interludes, the proficiency with the composition and with each other showed; they called it the gift from their teacher.

Success of the composition depended heavily on putting the music above their selves.

Notes to myself

As I have tried to put one major classical music event on my yearly calendar, the idea of selfless devotion to an art or, a cause bigger than the self, takes form.

While Indian Classical music is steeped in tradition, it has allowed multiple streams be born out of its core through a cultivation of unique styles and forms, thereby growing the base tradition and the new form.

Every successful performance has been an outcome of years of practice where the line between muscle memory and the art almost fade.

It is welded together with healthy distance from fame, hardwired humility and adherence to the craft.

In our corporate lives, we develop bosses and not teachers; teaching has been siloed as a profession, and not as an individual duty to grow by growing fellow humans.

The idea of teacher is built around inclusiveness, creating a high level of individual pedigree with an objective to serve and impart, and also learn in the process.

The legacy that we want to leave behind is right in front of us…every day.