The Score Magazine - Archive January 2015 issue! | Page 13

Ananya Ashok
I’ve heard you used to practice upto 11 hours a day as a
youth. Most kids at that time would’ve been out playing
and doing normal kid stuff. Not to mention, it’s not an
easy task for adults either! How and where did the drive
come from?
I would say my father has been my biggest motivator. Ofcourse,
11 hours did not necessarily include continuous singing or
practice. It would also involve continuous exposure to music
like listening, practicing, and attending concerts. The training
as a whole was about 10-12 hours a day. My
father would come back early from
his work and it used to be music
all the time from then. He would
teach me korvais (rhythmic
calculations) during trips or any
spare time. The inspiration also
came from watching/listening
to performers of yester-years and
ofcourse I was told by people often
that I too will get to that level of
performance, and so the drive came
naturally from all th at.
Having given countless concerts in
your life, you’ve played everywhere,
explored numerous facets of
Carnatic/Hindustani music and
practically worked with every
major accompanying artist in the
field. Is it always a new experience
performing every time? What do you
do to spice things up?
A Concert depends on the artists many
times. For instance in a Jugalbandhi (A
fusion performance of North Indian
and South Indian Classical styles
of music), it’s really not about you.
You’re actually a part of a big puzzle
and, I don’t consider these concerts
as presenting what I know. It’s
really about listening to other
artists, blending in and visa-versa.
After you reach a certain level as
a musician, everyday is a different day.
Instrumentalists have that challenge many
times to present something entertaining for their
audience. Sometimes you must be in a position to
gel with others. Sometimes requests from audiences
come up. So as a result, every concert is always a
new experience.
Your flute is so different from the usual
Carnatic flute in terms of the sound that it
produces. Can you tell us about your unique
approach to the instrument and what sets your
sound apart from other flautists?
When I was young, my father and I visited the
legendary flautist Sri TR Mahalingam. He had
advised my father when we visited him to have
me not listen to any flautist so that I may develop
a style of my own. So, I’ve never learned from any
flute guru in my life. I actually started with violin
first, but then I used take any cylindrical object
and play. One day I picked up the instrument and I
found I could play it. Maybe over the years I have gone through
the grind. I’ve been exposed to the best of best in terms of vocal
music. At the same time I’ve traveled all over, been exposed
to musicians, and interacted with all of them. All of that put
together has contributed to newer techniques and different
approach to flute playing. Especially in this field where vocal
music takes precedence, you need to really stand out as an
instrumentalist. So when you practice and you get an idea, you
have to build on that idea. It is a variety of things that have
resulted in the final product.
In concerts, you have mentioned about and
demonstrated the technique of playing two octaves
simultaneously. How did you think of this and what is it
about this specific technique that makes it so difficult?
It was an accidental finding, really. When I played concerts
during my young days, I used to notice several challenges
from my end. For instance, not having the same range as a
violinist. The have a 3-octave range on the instrument. The
flute is usually half octave at the base, one full mid-range and
half octave on the top. That used to intimidate me because
it was restricting for me as a flautist. Then I brought in the
system of base flute, extending with different flutes to match.
So while these experiments were going on, I also noticed that
many violinists could very comfortably play two Sa’s at the
same time. It was during those times that I would think that
achieving the same sound on the flute was a possibility. So I
started focusing on my instrument. I proceeded to approach
a non-South Indian flute maker. I sat with him and explained
about the instrument and then got a flute made specifically
for me. And then from there many possibilities arose. This
was mainly because I had already overcome many difficulties
presented by the instrument through rigorous practice. Much
of the flute making was more on trial and error basis and was
never perfect. And I always admired how perfect the sound of
North Indian Flutes used to be. So I went to my flute maker
in Delhi, sat with him for hours together and he helped me
develop a suitable instrument for Carnatic. With intensity you
can make the tone crack into two octaves. Further exploration
allows you to take it a step further and decide which octave to
accent and what not.
In recent years you’ve been seeking guidance from the
legendary Pt. Jasraj and you’ve also accompanied/given
performances with him. Tell us about your experiences
learning and performing with him?
It’s been a great journey. I’ve always been a fan of Hindustani
Music. In Chennai it’s a shame we don’t have Hindustani
musicians at all. The same goes for the North as well with
respect to South Indian Musicians. Atleast in Bombay, you have
access to some good teachers. There came a point when I was
looking into the next stage of what to do in my career. Initially I
thought maybe I’d make Hindustani Music a profession. I never
went after it though, but I started learning. It’s a great system of
music. The level of detail, perfection, everything is something to
truly learn from the system. It can be anything from designing
a speech, presenting an artist, and the respect for senior artists.
It’s a very wholesome experience. So I started learning from
him and it helped make my music better and gave me newer
perspective. I gained a better understanding of how to present
a raga for example. For instance if I have 1 hour, I could play
a dozen compositions and kill time or play one raga and fill
the time that way. It made me personally more adaptable for a
North Indian organization to invite me to play. I could go out
there, present a proper Carnatic concert and present one raga
and show them that Carnatic musicians are capable of
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