Artist Of The Month PRAVEEN SPARSH
How did you pick up the mridangam as an instrument
My parents say that as a 5 year old , I was quite troublesome and started drumming on whatever I found . Coming from a family of percussionists , ( grandfather - Thanjavur Upendran , Mridangam artiste , great grandfather - Valaigaiman Shanmugasundaram Pillai , Thavil artiste ) Mridangam , I think , was the most obvious and accessible choice .
Tell us about your learning years of the instrument .
As artists , we keep learning and it goes through interesting trails . Like any other artform , the basics were intense and rigorous , and the more advanced lessons were engaging on a deeper level . At this stage , I try to learn and express my voice through my instrument without barriers or transmission loss .
What are some of the techniques you as a mridangam artist think one must learn to be good at it ?
Apart from certain basic aspects like regular practice and a healthy mind , listening while playing , I find , is an abstract , yet important aspect of being a Mridangam artiste ( any artiste for that matter ). When we are so caught up in what we want to play , we fail to listen to what others are doing or the sound of what we just played .
What challenges have you faced as an artist ?
I don ’ t want to sound dramatic and say that being a Mridangam artiste is a challenge in this day and age . Infact , things have gotten better now . Like any other artform , the Carnatic music world also has its own set of problems , but we ’ ve at least gotten to a point now where they are starting to be acknowledged and small changes are happening .
Tell us about your independent projects
Recently I had the honour of working with Pradeep Kumar on ‘ Pann ’ India ’ s first programmable NFT . I ’ ve also produced “ Unreserved ”, an independent mridangam-centric album . Over the past year , I ’ ve arranged and produced an instrumental music album by my partner , Shreya Devnath . I ’ ve also been working on a few independent music albums by good friends and wonderful artistes , Sushma Soma , Aditya Prakash and Sid Sriram .
What ’ s your opinion about accompanying artists taking centre stage in India now ? Has it become better ? Somehow , hierarchy in humans is rightly condemned , but hierarchy in instruments is normalised . In a democratic setting , the ability and space to express an idea should not be governed by the instrument you play , or its perceived ‘ role ’ in the hierarchical system that is present in the conventional concert stage . As long as you have a genuine and honest voice , you deserve your space . Things are certainly getting better but we have a long way to go .
Upcoming projects
Apart from the live scene opening up a bit and travel getting back in the mix , I ’ m working on a full fledged ableton live set and working on some interesting collaborations .
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