CHAT CORNER
‘Gurupoornima fete is my offering to gurus’
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At present I am working on a series of Malayalam ghazals.
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Pandit Ramesh Narayan
In a land where Carnatic music is the name of the game, Pandit Ramesh Narayanan has made a name for himself as a Hindustani musician of repute. A senior disciple of Pandit Jasraj of the Mewati Gharana, Ramesh started Pandit Motiram Narayan Sangeeth Vidyalay Music School which follows the gurukul system in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Karunagapally and Kozhikode. He is also an award-winning music director, his latest being the movie ‘Kadhaparayum Theruvoram,’ to be released next week. On August 15 this year, Ramesh along with tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussein, drummer Shivamani, sitar player Niladri Kumar, Mandolin U. Srinivas and Steven Devassay will kick off their ‘Dhundhubhi’ series of fusion concerts in Kochi. Excerpts from an interview.
On choosing Hindustani music
I come from a family of musicians. My father, Narayanan Bhagavathar, and my mother, Narayaniamma, were both Carnatic musicians. So it was natural for me to study Carnatic music at Chittoor College, Palakkad. Thirty years ago there was nothing except All India Radio if you wanted hear music, especially Hindustani vocals. I remember eagerly waiting for the thumris of the likes of Begum Akhtar and Girija Devi on AIR and trying to identify shrutilaya. Also near our home in Koothuparamba, Kannur, there was a Pathani family who used to sing ghazals and a tabla artiste by name of Ustad Harris whose gurus and friends used to visit often and with them came impromptu Hindustani concerts. So Koothuparamba of the early 1980’s was awash with gaths (bits) of Hindustani music which I used to strum on my guitar. After my graduation I went to Pune to train in sitar under Pandit Sachidananda Phadke. While there I also trained in vocals under Khan Sahib Ustad Mohammad Hussein for about two years.
Meeting Pandit Jasraj
While in Pune, I had heard about the gurukula system of learning and I wanted to experience that system of learning music. Only I did not know how to go about it or have any godfather to introduce me to any guru. I happened to hear Pandit Jasraj singing the morning ragas Thodi and Bairagi during the Sawai Gandharv Music Festival in 1985. Somehow I knew that I wanted him as my guru. My friend Sunil Padhye got me Guruji’s address in Mumbai and I just went there. I folded my hands in greeting and sang in Hindustani for him. Afterwards he told me that I had only 40 per cent Hindustani music in me while the rest was Carnatic. He even offered to introduce me to M. Balamuralikrishna… But I was persistent. After a while he called me and told me that the correct way to do ‘pranams’ was not by folding hands but by touching feet of the guru. And there began my lessons under him, which continue to this day.
Valuable lessons from Pandit Jasraj
Jasrajji is, perhaps, the ideal musician. Music imbibes every aspect of his life. His music, his humility, his lifestyle, his relationships are all lessons in themselves.
Mewati Swati Gharana
Swati Tirunal’s magnificent 39 khayals are generally overlooked. Hindustani vocalists these days sing the khayals in whatever raga they choose. There arose a need for a style just for this. But Jasrajji was sceptical as to whether such a gharana would be accepted in Kerala. Nevertheless, when he came to receive the Swati Puraskar in April 2008, with the permission of the audience of eminent Carnatic musicians and the Government, Jasrajji announced the ‘Mewati Swati Gharana,’ to much applause. Jasrajji himself is going to compose the 39 khayals. I performed the first concert of the gharana in Los Angeles. The only problem is that sangeetha sabhas in Kerala have not really accepted or encouraged it as much as sabhas in other parts of the country and worldwide, even.
Gurupoornima festival
The Gurupoornima fete is my offering to the gurus. It was begun in 1996. This year on July 7 it is the 13th year of the festival. It is held at three places, the first of which is always in Thiruvananthapuram on Gurupoornima day followed by ones in Kochi and Kozhikode. Veterans such as Devarajan Master, Neyyatinkara Vasudevan, Dakshinamoorthy, Ustad Rafique Khan and Pandit Anand Badamikar have participated in the previous festivals.
Guinness World record
The 30-hour singing marathon during the Soorya fete in 1994 was not intended as a world record attempt. I was just making an offering to my gurus by trying out the ‘time theory’ of ragas according to which each raga is assigned a particular time of the day. When I started singing, 24 hours became 30 hours…After my world record, on November 30, 1994 Guruji honoured me at the Mewati festival in Hyderabad in front of greats such as Gangubhai Hangal.
As a music composer
I love composing for films because it helps to promote Hindustani music. I have composed for about 25 films starting with ‘Garshom’ and including movies such as ‘Paradesi,’ ‘Makalkku’ ‘Rathrimazha,’ ‘Magrib,’ ‘Megh Malhar’ and ‘Anyar,’ to name a few. Recently, I won the best music director award at the Madrid film festival in Spain for ‘Paradesi.’ At present I am working on a series of Malayalam ghazals. Whatever I have wished for, I have been blessed with that.
NITA SATHYENDRAN
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