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`Divine grace is very important'
One grew up motherless in an akhaada (place where wrestlers practice) in Allahabad; the other comes from another world — privileged and urban. He was schooled in the guru shishya parampara while she is a product of a modern education in Mumbai.
He has not forgotten the fact that he often looked for a free meal as a child; her grandmother was a patron of art and music.
He is world famous as Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan Hari Prasad Chaurasia and she is Pandita Anuradha Pal, hailed as the internationally acclaimed woman professional tabla player who formed India's only all-female percussion-based instrumental and vocal fusion group, `Stree Shakti'.
Both have been innovative and have lent their music to films. While Panditji, along with Shiv Kumar Sharma (Shiv-Hari), has composed for films like Chandni, Darr, Lamhe and Silsila, Anuradha composed for M.F. Hussain's Gaja Gamini. Panditji dreams of setting up Gurukuls (he has one called Vrindavan in Mumbai) while Anuradha is looking ahead to a long and illustrious career that will further entrench her as a one-of-a-kind tabla player.
Though they have more than a generation separating them age-wise, the duo shares a bond that is immediately apparent on stage and off it. Pankaja Srinivasa listens in.
Chaurasia: I am Krishna with the flute and she is my Radha. The only difference is that the original Radha listened to Kishenji playing the flute while this one plays the tabla with him!
Anuradha: We share a terrific bond.
Chaurasia: Yes, we do go back a long way. I knew your grandmother. Remarkable lady. She loved to surround herself with musicians and artistes.
Anuradha: I think my love for music comes from there. Otherwise, no one in my family is a musician.
Chaurasia: My father was a wrestler and my first meeting with a great musician was when I was six or seven years old. I first met Ustad Allauddin Khan at Allahabad. He used to stay at Hotel Prayaag that belonged to my friend who studied with me in the Municipal School. I used to hang out there hoping to get good food to eat!
Anuradha: I started out by learning classical vocal music, but then I discovered that I had a flair for taal. I was ten-and-a-half years old when I had my first tabla performance.
Chaurasia: I chose the flute, because it was the least complicated and the cheapest instrument. It is so simple and humble ... made of pure bamboo and nothing else. And, I was inspired by Bholanath Ji. I learnt from him for eight years. Later, Guru Ma Annapurna Devi, daughter of Ustad Allaudin Khan, nurtured my love for music and inspired me to take it up seriously.
Anuradha: I had the privilege of being the shishya of Ustad Allah Raakha and Ustad Zakir Hussain. It has been an amazing experience, an unforgettable one. That is the best thing about my profession. I have had the opportunity of accompanying and meeting some of the greatest musicians in the world.
And I have enjoyed playing most with the Trinity as I call them — Chaurasiaji, Shiv Kumar Sharma and Pandit Jasraj. They have never failed to make me comfortable. With Panditji here, I have always had a lot of scope to play my tabla. A lot of musicians still think tabla players are mere accompanists.
Chaurasia: They don't realise that rhythm and music are like body and soul.
Anuradha: He always gives me my space and allows me to hold forth on my tabla.
Chaurasia: That is because you deserve it.
Anuradha: Yes, but you will be surprised how many sceptics and chauvinists there are out there. They do not appreciate the tabla person taking over the recital even for a few minutes.
Chaurasia: Life is more complicated now. More competition, more demands. It was simpler when I started out.
Anuradha: It has not been so simple for me. I had to face a lot of prejudice. Because I was a woman in a predominantly male preserve.
Chaurasia: But it is young people like you who have made the tabla popular the world over.
Anuradha: I have had to work harder than anyone else. And tabla playing is a physically demanding task. My parents made it a point to tell me that it was not going to be easy. They made sure I knew it was going to be a tough task, both physically and mentally. But they supported me whole-heartedly.
Chaurasia: My father, I remember, was slightly disappointed to see me abandoning wrestling. But, he was happy that I had got a government job when I got employment at All India Radio, Cuttack. Support and encouragement and blessings are everything. There are so many people out there who are more learned than I am, but I have always had people's love, blessings and good wishes. I believe I have reached here only because of that and, most importantly, God's grace.
Anuradha: Initially, no one was prepared to teach me the tabla. It was not a `girl' thing to do. But that fuelled my desire. I have to love what I do and I loved playing the tabla. I would do anything it took to excel in it.
Chaurasia: You have to love what you are doing and divine grace is very important. Without that there is nothing.
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