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Bhatt, of course
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Salil Bhatt, who will perform on June 12, is emerging from his Grammy-winning father's shadow
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Salil Bhatt: `It is important to have the hangover of the previous note in every stroke. It becomes fabulous hearing then.'
ASK A child who he looks up to and six out of 10 times, he is bound to point to his father. Cricket runs are first scored off dear dad's weak bowling, cycles dropped on his foot, signatures forged on embarrassing report cards... petty crime or sport, you learn it from your old man. But music is the lesson that Salil, as a young boy, learnt from his father, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt.
Salil V. Bhatt represents the 10th generation of the famous Bhatt lineage, where music has been flowing for more than 500 years. By inventing the crescent-tailed Satvik veena, he has already emerged out of the shadow of his father — the Grammy-winning Padmashree Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt. The Satvik veena is an improvisation on the Mohan veena that his father created years ago.
The Mohan veena is a hybrid slide guitar, customised to adapt to Indian classical music. Working on it for many years, Bhatt junior has now replaced most of the horizontal metal keys at the veena's tail end with vertical wooden ones to "increase resonance". In a sitar or a tanpura, the tuning pegs go into a wooden crevice and it becomes a herculean task to keep the tuning intact. So the satvik veena has tuning machines that are concealed, ensuring that the pitch remains rock-steady.
"The sound from the Satvik veena is accurate, clear and vocal-like," Salil explains. "Every stroke lasts long enough to give the impression of continuity as each note flows into the next." For ages, people have considered vocal music supreme, and Salil says that instrumental tunes are less enjoyable because no note is connected to the other. "It is important to have the hangover of the previous note in every stroke. It becomes fabulous hearing then."
Any first references to Salil are made with an inevitable mention of his lineage and, of course, his eminent father. Was the Satvik veena born out of a need to step out from the shared limelight? Salil confesses that although he was honoured to have been able to perform with Pandit Bhatt, he did "feel intimidated by the huge name and status" of his father. "Every time I was introduced, Panditji's name would be the lead. I'm very happy to have been born to such a living legend, but I used to feel small and consumed by all the adulation he received," he says. An upcoming musician then, he craved for his own identity. And the Satvik veena is a positive step towards that.
Salil has evolved from one who made his aversion to the promotion of classical music very apparent, to a musician who has embraced every genre. "I was even against remixes and mindless music once upon a time. But that's all history. I've realized that music can never be wrong." He admits that classical music is still the forte of only a handful, and that the youth almost detest alaapnas and bandishes. Salil blames it on past generations' insistence on purity of form and rules of music. "Anything that is so restricting, even if it is music, will be hated," he says, "that is why experimentation and novelty is a must for every musician." Salil brings his unique veena for a concert in Bangalore on June 12, 2004.
His philosophy of creating a more listener-friendly classical music might have ruffled a few orthodox feathers, but many others are appreciative. For instance, Bikram Ghosh of Rhythmscape and Australian musician Laurie Mills have invited Salil for making contemporary music with them.
This Saturday, it is not just Salil's recital that you could look forward to. Aarthi Shankar, an acclaimed exponent of Bharatanatya, will accompany the `Prince of Ragas' on stage.
The concert begins at 6:30 pm at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Race Course Road. For details, contact Sushant Mukherjee on 31848257.
R.M.
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