Violinish & Composer , Sharat Chandra Srivastava spoke to us about his musical journey , his life as a performer , Teacher , Founder of a School & best of all an amazing philanthropist .
Violinish & Composer , Sharat Chandra Srivastava spoke to us about his musical journey , his life as a performer , Teacher , Founder of a School & best of all an amazing philanthropist .
Tell us about your musical journey .
I started learning violin from my grandfather / my guru Pt . Join Srivastava at the age of 7 . So the journey began at home . From my childhood I ' ve seen students coming home to learn from him . I always love hearing music , so it came very naturally to me .
You have been performing in the circuit for 3 decades , both Hindustani and Rock music . How did you manage to experiment with different genres ?
I ' ve always learnt Hindustani music from my childhood until the time when I joined Parikrama at the age of 17 . It was the early nineties when Parikrama happened . That was the time when the Indian music scene was taking a huge turn . That was the era of music album being made mainly for pop musicians hence , the music videos . Then Punjabi pop came in . Independent musicians started making a mark . New music channels were introduced , cable TV came in . So a lot happened around that time . Playing in a rock band was a big learning for me which eventually helped me to form my own fusion band Mrigya . There I had the freedom to experiment with our own beautiful Indian Raagas with different genres of music .
Even for us as Mrigya , we were the only ones starting out in 1999 with our own unique sound of Raag based fusion . That experiment became a huge hit in the country .
Collaborating with different forms of music like jazz , Celtic , flamenco , from Africa has always been a great learning experience .
Tell us about your philanthropic initiative recently and being awarded for the same .
It all started in the year 2012 , when while working with musicians across the globe , I got inspired to start my own musical . I started ‘ Strings of the World ’ music festival where musicians from Scotland , Slovenia , Norway , Holland , China and Iran came together to bring different genres of music under one roof . First year was a huge success . That motivated me to do it in the next year . Then we started taking these international musicians to the slums of India and started performing for children . It was a great experiment for us as these small children were getting exposed to such beautiful classical instruments like the violin , cello , kora from Africa . Also , teaching the art to someone who does not have the resources encouraged us to take initiatives like these . Apart from playing concerts I also teach . The way , I learnt violin under Guru Shishya Parampara , the same way I ' m also teaching my students . They come and stay with me in my house and learn this art form . I ' m not charging them any fees . Also I ' ve been playing concerts for children living in slums so they are exposed to various musical instruments and stores of music . I ' m doing this with a hope that maybe someday I ' ll find these kids to come and learn this art form .
You are also the Founder of Strings of the World . Could you elaborate a little on this festival ?
I started Strings of the world music festival in 2012 . The main idea was to feature a whole variety of string instruments under one roof . Since I ' m a string player I always had an inclination towards string instruments . Along with this , I also infuse the Indian music with them . For example , Indium , a kora player , playing with Ravan Hatta from Rajasthan , or a sarangi or sitar playing with harp or oud from the middle -east . I find these combinations very fascinating . The main goal of the festival is collaboration . Musicians come to India , meet new musicians then make new music and perform . Thus , the music that comes out is very fresh . This has now become an annual festival that happens every year in November where musicians from different parts of the world come and collaborate with our Indian musicians . We have had musicians from Scotland , Slovenia , Holland , Norway , Russia , China , Germany . This year I ' m planning to bring orchestra from Italy and the USA .
Which has been the best stage you ' ve performed at so far ? Having traveled across the globe .
Every stage is a good stage . But there are a few concerts which I have a very fond memory of . I played Yaman in Aurangabad , Jaijaiwanti in Berlin in 2007 . With Mrigya , we had some great concerts in Edinburgh in . 2001 .
Apart from all of this , you ' re also a brilliant teacher yourself . What is your take on the current music scenario in India .
I guess the current music scenario is mainly about Bollywood . I think I belong to the other side of the fence . Playing with jazz musicians , big bands , more of collaborations with international musicians .
What inspires you the most ?
My grandfather my Guru Pt . Joi Srivastava . The way he played the violin was pure magic . In the seventies bands like Shakti , mahavishnu orchestra , pt . Ravi Shankar and his collaboration with the Beatles , L . Shankar , Dr . L . Subramanium , Ustad Ali Akbar Khan . These are the musicians I ' ve grown up listening to .
Give your message to upcoming artists .
To learn this art form properly . Find a good Guru and work hard , not to opt for short cuts .
Do you have a role model ? If yes , who and why ?
A role model acts like a guiding light . Of course , my grandfather had been one of the foundation pillars to what I am today , but I am till date very inspired by Shri Shri Ravishankar , L . Shankar , Dr . L . Subramanium , Ustad Ali Akbar Khan . In the late seventies there was a huge fascination for Shakti .
If not music , what do you think you would have been doing ?
Music had been so much into my existence that I never thought of taking any other career . I tried to pursue engineering but left it at the half way and came back to my grandfather to learn this art form .
What do you think about the current music scenario ?
Well music industry windsurfing has been changing continuously . The audience for Indian classical music is very different from the audience for pop music or film music . There was a time when baithaks were organized and the concert would go on for hours . Now people don ' t have the time to sit through a long concert . Internet indeed has changed everything in our lives . Now we can enjoy any kind of music sitting at home . For me , as a performer there is nothing better than being on stage . Now the scene is totally different . People are doing all kinds of experiments . Sufi rock is mainly what young musicians are working on these days .
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