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`Film songs are an example of fusion'
True. The response there has been fantastic, whether I played jazz, rock or Carnatic Prasanna
They both play the guitar. While Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt tackles Hindustani aalaps, taals and meends on his modified mohanaveena, Prasanna plays Carnatic swaras and ragams on his electric instrument. The similarity does not stop there. Both of them have collaborated with Western musicians on various fusion albums. And of course, that the panditji won a Grammy for "A Meeting by the River" (a collaboration with Ry Cooder) is part of music lore. The affable mohanaveena maestro was in the city with son Salil Bhatt for a jugalbandi concert, while the engineer from IIT Madras, who's based in Boston, was here to record for an untitled film that he's doing for director Shankar. And a Take Two between the two seemed just right.
Savitha Gautam recorded the conversation.
Prasanna: How have you been, sir? We've met a couple of times in the U.S.
Pandit Bhatt: Yes, yes. I was playing there. You play the electric guitar, right?
Prasanna: Yes. What have you doing lately?
Pandit Bhatt: (pointing to Salil): My latest project is my son! (both burst out laughing) He has created a newer version of the mohanaveena, which he calls satvikveena. Satvik is my grandson's name (a proud smile on his face). I have not heard anybody play Carnatic on the slide guitar...
Prasanna: Yeah! That's because of the way the gamakas are played. Ravikiran plays the chitraveena, but that's it. How different is the satvikveena from your instrument?
Pandit Bhatt: (Salil show the instrument) Well, he has added more strings. And it has jhalas like the sitar. (Prasanna watches intently as panditji plays a short aalap)
Prasanna: That was simply beautiful. It puts us in the right mood... (laughs) At the risk of sounding clichéd, when and how did you modify the guitar?
Pandit Bhatt: I come from a family that has a 300-year-old musical lineage. My father used to play the sitar. I learnt the violin and sitar as a child. When I was 13 or 14, a young German woman came to learn music from my father. She was a guitarist. As I watched her play, I was mesmerised. She left the guitar for me. I tinkered with it... took a screwdriver and added a few sympathetic strings and started playing a raga. It sounded beautiful and well... that's it. My guru, Pandit Ravi Shankar, fine-tuned my skills. How did you take to playing Carnatic music on your guitar?
Prasanna: I was a rock guitarist. I used to hear my sister singing and tried to play what I heard on the guitar. Meanwhile, I also took Carnatic lessons from Tiruvavur S. Balasubramaniam and Kanyakumariji. So I tried playing Carnatic ragas on my electric guitar, much to the displeasure of my guru. But once she heard the sound, she was convinced I could adapt a Western instrument to create Indian sounds. That brings us to the word fusion and how it's used in the Indian context...
Pandit Bhatt: I think fusion music has to mature here. Just adding rhythm to a tune does not make a fusion. My understanding of the term is that it is the coming together of two streams to create a single harmony. The accent must be on melody. I have tried doing that with many world musicians - Ry Cooder, Bela Fleck (banjo player), Jei-Bing Chen (Erh-hu player) and Taj Mahal to name a few. Also I think the best example of fusion music is film songs. I think the film composers have done it all.
Prasanna: I agree. In fact, my latest album "Electric Ganesha Land", which is a tribute to Jimi Hendrix, is hard rock all the way. But I've used only Indian instruments. And like you mentioned, film music fuses many elements to create a whole. Sir, we have both performed extensively abroad and for audiences that are not too familiar with our music. How do they receive our music?
Pandit Bhatt: To begin with, I think today Indian music is no more an alien sound. Many Westerners are familiar with it. I think they appreciate our music. I remember when I played at the Crossroads Guitar Festival, organised by Eric Clapton, people were simply fascinated with the instrument. They could not believe a guitar could sound so different. Similar was my experience during the 'Concert for George' (a tribute to ex-Beatle George Harrison) show.
Prasanna: True. I play different genres on the same instrument and have performed in places like France and Sweden. The response there has been fantastic, whether I played jazz, rock or Carnatic. In fact, I teach music in Boston and I have Brazilians, Armenians and Africans who are learning to play Dikshitar kritis.
Prasanna: What do have to say about remixes and music videos?
Pandit Bhatt: Today people are `seeing' music today thanks to television and music DVDs. I think remixes are not bad, but I think the music videos spoil the song. Of course, people are obsessed with cricket. Only wish they showed less of cricket and more of music on television!
Prasanna: (surprised) No cricket? Don't you enjoy watching the game? What games did you play as a child?
Pandit Bhatt: (laughing) I do watch the game but not so much. I used to play badminton and carrom.
Prasanna: Sir, you have met George Harrison.
Pandit Bhatt: Yes. He and his family came and stayed with us in Jaipur. I remember he played the mohanaveena while I played his guitar! He was a very simple and sweet person.
Prasanna: My wife is a great Beatles fan, in fact a walking-talking dictionary on the Beatles. Does your wife listen to music?
Pandit Bhatt: Yes. In fact, music brought us together. You see, she is a Tamilian and her family lived in Kilpauk. Her father used to work with Sir C. V. Raman, and work brought him to Jaipur. But her family was against music. She used to sneak out to listen to my music... (a shy smile appears on his face).
PHOTO: R. SHIVAJI RAO
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