His heart beats for it
SOUMYA BHAT
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At 95, Pandit Dattatreya Sadashiva Garud’s commitment to music remains undiminished. The body may vacillate, but the tabla maestro’s spirit continues to soar. He will be conferred the Mallikarjun Mansur Award tomorrow
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Photo: SAMPATH KUMAR G. P.
INNER RESERVES Pt. Garud: ‘Music is knowledge and also the source of life’
A small rented house off the busy Sampige Road in Malleshwaram which has for more than 50 years now hosted several musical stalwarts, patrons and innumerable students. The modest home of Pt. Dattatreya Sadashiva Garud resonates with the taanpura and
resounds with the tabla.
Pt. D.S. Garud was greatly influenced by the personality and life of his father, Garud Sadashiva Rao, the doyen of Kannada theatre. He was taught classical music and introduced to the tabla so that he could accompany his father in his plays. Thirst for knowledge and music left the young Dattatreya Garud restless. He wouldn’t calm down till he immersed himself in playing on the tabla or in exploring a raga. It was this resolute conviction that led Garud on a journey of self-discovery through music.
With just the tabla as his companion and friend, he wandered through many cities, accompanying several musicians of various genres. Despite many opportunities to move to the North of the country and settle down to a prosperous life, Pt. Garud decided to stay on to propagate Hindustani music. An artist, he says, must feel ‘one’ with his music, and as one reaches higher levels of creativity, art itself would make the individual humble. He shares his experiences of performing with Pt. Mallikarjun Mansur with great reverence. “His was inimitable, profound and intense music, and as a person he was completely unpretentious.” He still remembers how difficult it was to understand and play ‘in saath’ to Pt. Mallikarjun Mansur, who sang his variety of taans so intensely that the accompanist on the tabla had to be perfect in his rhythm to even keep the taala intact. He also shared an intimate, friendly relationship with Pt. Mansur.
Pt. Bhimsen Joshi was a close friend of his from school, whom he later accompanied in several of his concerts. He has also accompanied several other celebrated artistes like Pt. Gajananrao Joshi, the senior Dagar brothers, Begum Akhtar, Dr. N. Rajam and Pt. Basavaraj Rajguru.
Pt. D.S. Garud, a performer with a great sense of stagecraft, sent an electrifying wave through the audience with his first ‘dhin…’ on the tabla, which resonates in the minds of many even today. For many now, Pt. Garud is known as the teacher who continues to teach rigorously, at the age of 95! A fiercely disciplined man, the teacher in him is uncompromising when it comes to perfection in the rendition of music. A perfect gayaki shall be wholesome, in approaching a note, in voice, vigour, emotion (bhaava), rhythm (laya) and the literature used (saahitya). The raga should naturally unfold its beauty with all its intricacies through the gaayaki.
The first thing he tests in a student is if she/he has the potential, conviction and frame of mind to do rigorous practice. It is very important then, he says, to develop the voice for it to sound ‘complete’ (buland), for which he teaches pranayama techniques for the vocal chords to sound clear. He is a teacher who firmly believes in saadhe pratham sur (‘get hold of the first note’) and hence makes his student sing the first note sa till he is completely satisfied. The method of practice is also strictly prescribed by him, which is a combination of a good health regime of diet, yoga and pranayama and regular, everyday practice. It is only after these fundamentals are set that he proceeds to teach a raga.
While he teaches to play tabla, he insists that the beats be clear, meticulous and strong, and if accompanying, the tabla shall be singing ‘in saath’ with the singer and never dominate. An artiste, he says, must be humble and introspective, as the loveliest and most creative art originates from within oneself.
“Music is knowledge and also the source of life. Music is yoga, leading one towards sound body, mind and intellect. It is the muse, and the devotion. The ultimate truth lies in this realisation. It is to be experienced by enslaving oneself to the naada. It is for the joy of the soul. Entertainment is something that would only follow,” is something that Pt. Garud has believed all the while. He dismisses music catering to easy entertainment and popularity as trivial and petty. He is a firm propagator of music as a way of life.
How would one not be enthralled and inspired by this man, who says with fervour, “Listen! To that anahatha naada…, become one with it. Then create the loveliest of music, and that is the ultimate joy!”
(An introduction to D.S. Garud’s autobiography, Sangeetha Jeevana Tapasya, on Page 2)
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