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Nouveau notes, novel harmony
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Meeta Pandit may call herself a `gharana hardliner', but that doesn't stop her from hitting off a musical dialogue with French jazz artiste Allie Delfau.
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TO BE able to break new grounds in performing arts, submissions to defaults are as important as skills in design. To this, Hindustani classical vocalist, Meeta Pandit, couldn't have agreed more. For when she, the scion of the traditional Gwalior gharana, chanced to meet the French pianist and Western classical composer, Allie Delfau, they instantly knew how to transpose this default into a larger design. To them it was no worldly chemistry, for they vibe musically. "We were neither socialising with each other nor were very talkative. I think it was a memorable evening because we let our music talk. It was like meeting a person in music...," recounts Meeta, her face lighting up to outshine the crimson lustre of her crisp Chanderi sari. Meeta, the first female torch bearer of the Pandit lineage was selected by the French embassy as the "artiste en residence" in 2003, which led to this Parisian encounter, and later to "nouvelle" music - as the duo puts it.
"We have definite problems with the word `fusion'. Our music cannot be technically categorised as anything done before," says Meeta, who is of the opinion that fusion refers to music that is "more electrical or rock," pointing out, "Here we both have a firm classical background."
Observe a rather soft Allie, as if careful with every word on the tongue. The two seriously could not be more unlike. "Good music is our meeting point," asserts Meeta. Allie joins, "It is not so complicated. We create beautiful music. More than a meeting of cultures, it is about the meeting of two individuals. It is purely beautiful."
But did this beautiful crossover rattle certain traditional quarters, the self-acclaimed hardliners of the gharana, as it were, upholding its inviolable sanctity above all? "Oh, I am quite a hardliner myself, that way." To this, Meeta jumps, charming in her disapproval. Meeta understands this endeavour as a growth, not a departure. "I had a fortunate upbringing. My father L.K. Pandit is open to all sorts of influences, provided the taleem (education) is solid. The music I represent is Khayal gayaki. My taleem stays unruffled with new experiences."
Within the ramparts of tradition, this sixth exponent in an unbroken chain of the Pandit lineage, delights in innovation. Even though she gives prominence to Khayal, she admittedly "moulds her voice towards soprano", all perfect ingredients for a musical extempore. Allie nods, "We meet on stage, with no clue as to what we would do. My background is in jazz and we improvise. We react to each other. It is a live musical conversation."
Beauty of meeting
All in all, both the artistes vouch for the beauty of the meeting. The series composed by them is thoughtfully entitled The Gift. For Meeta it is the gift of France to her. Similar ventures lie in the offing. Allie has invited Meeta to sing in her new album Orphy.
The duo has taken its concert to all prominent centres of the country, Delhi being the penultimate stop in their musical itinerary. So, default or design, the city definitely swayed to "nouvelle" attempts, away from the singsong of the beaten track.
ATIKA RAO
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