A dasa for our times
WHEN Raichur Sheshagiridas sings the compositions of Haridasas, he infuses the sahitya with immense passion and bhakti. Hailing from the family of Sri Akhihala Govinda Dasa, it was only natural that he inherited this ardour.
Lakshmamma, his grand mother, sang over 1,500 Haridasa kritis without the help of any script and this had a deep impact on him. "Pity we couldn't record her songs!" says Sheshagiridas. No wonder he started singing at the age of nine.
Though music was always his passion, he became an engineer at his father's insistence. But he did have formal training Hindustani music under renowned musicians V.M. Joshi and Mukund Gore.
He chose to popularise rare works of Haridasas, pancharatna suladis in particular. He says that dissemination of sahitya is crucial and music is only a medium. Lyrics should never be eclipsed by music, adds Sheshagiridas.
He has released several CDs and cassettes and is an All India Radio artiste. His first cassette, Pancharatna Suladigalu, was released by Bannanje Govindacharya. "I have learnt Hindustani music, but suladis are in Carnatic style. I have tried my best to experiment on this," he says.
This Founder Trustee and Director of Haridasa Seva International Trust, Bangalore, and the Secretary for Shruthi Sahitya Mela, Raichur, conducts special programmes called Haridasa Festivals across the State. He next plans to hold such programmes elsewhere in the world.
GEETHA SRINIVASAN
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