Suresh Mathur is the founder of the Karnatic Hindustani Music Circle . A physicist and a musician Mathur has been pursuing his two passions with great fervor. Suresh studied Hindustani Classical Music at the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in New Delhi during 1951-58. He received specialized training in Hindustani flute from his Guru Shri Prakash Wadehra, an eminent flautist and a noted music critic. Since coming to USA in 1958, he has continued his study, performance, and research in Hindustani music. He has presented many public concerts in the Boston area and other states during the past 50 years. He has also studied and practiced orchestral music, performing with Kathak dance, Bharatnatyam dance, and orchestral ensembles.  He has transcribed over 200 Hindustani ragas in English for use by English speaking students of music.  He retired in 1996 as a Professor of Physics from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. Since his retirement, he and his wife Padma have spent a very joyful time in helping to raise their two grandchildren, Katelyn and John. 

He has also continued to pursue his lifelong passion in the study, research, and practice of Hindustani and Karnatik Music systems.

How did you get interested in playing the flute?

While living in Lucknow in 1938, my father bought me a flute from a street hawker. The hawker played so beautifully while walking through the city streets. I thought that it was really so easy to play the flute. Since that day, I have never been without a flute in my hand, and I am still trying to learn to play the flute.

You are physicist by training and yet you have kept up with the music practice. How do you manage two careers at the same time?

I became fascinated with music and with Physics and Mathematics while still in school. There were always music teachers coming to our home, teaching music to the girls in the family. However, boys were not allowed to take formal lessons and had to settle for absorbing music simply by hanging around. At some point, in early years of college, I decided to pursue Physics as a profession, but to keep music as a life long passion.

Despite being trained in the North Indian music tradition you have developed a deep interest in Carnatic music. How did that come about? Is it difficult to do both?

My first contact with Karnatik music came in 1948, when I went to see the Hindi version of the film Meera by Smt. M. S. Subbulakshmi. The divine voice of Subbulakshmi had a very powerful emotional impact on me, a teenager at that time. When I was living in New Delhi during 1950-58, MS came to New Delhi for concerts almost every year. I always had to attend her concerts, as if drawn by a very powerful magnet. When I met my wife Padma in 1958, that brought in me in direct contact with the whole gamut of Karnatik music. Padma is from Mysore and trained in Karnatik vocal music for nearly 15 years, all through her school, college, and medical school years.

I have formally trained in Hindustani music. However, the Hindustani and the Karnatik music have a common foundation, going back 2000 years. To learn another discipline requires a limitless curiosity and an inner compulsion. It certainly is not easy, as it takes a lifetime to learn each system well.

What would be the three fundamental difference that you can site between Carnatic and Hindustani music styles?

1. The Hindustani and the Karnatik systems have evolved distinct personalities only during the last 1000 years or so. The reasons for this evolution have been cultural, geographical, historical, and political. The Muslims from Central Asia established empires in North India beginning about 1000 years back. Over the centuries, a blending of Hindu and Muslim cultures took place in North India, including the classical music of the country. The Muslims assimilated the existing music system and brought their own musical concepts. Thus the Hindustani music has evolved as a blending of Hindu and Muslim musical concepts. During this same historical period, South India was insulated from Muslim conquests for many more centuries. The music in South India remained in the hands of Brahmin scholars, musicians, and musicologists. This led to a predominantly religious and devotional character to the evolution of the Karnatik Music System.

2. The Karnatik and Hindustani Music have common roots in the ancient Raga and Tala concepts. However, they sound different both in the melodic and the rhythmic elements. The reason for this is simply the choice of Gamakas each system has chosen out of the 15 Gamakas described in the ancient music literature in Sanskrit. The evolution of the percussion follows very closely the evolution of the melodic elements. As such, even the Hindustani and Karnatik percussion sound different, as these evolve around the melodic elements, like a snugly fitting glove.

3. The Karnatik music has evolved during the last 500 years based on musical compositions, created by great composers. The Hindustani music has evolved, in the last 300 years, into a more abstract form of Raga presentation, in the form of Khayal, where the Sahitya (lyrics) is less important and the Raga development is completely improvised and developed by the performer on the stage. This leads to two very different mind sets of a Karnatik and a Hindustani musician.

How did you come upon the idea of KHMC?

The credit for bringing the Hindustani and Karnatik music communities together in the Boston area goes to our friends Drs. Datta and Natalie Dandekar. Starting in early 1980s, Dandekars held open houses for Indian music in their home in Newton. They invited all Hindustani and Karnatik musicians in the area to these musical soirees and we all performed and enjoyed Karnatik and Hindustani music together. When Dandekars had to move away from this area for career related reasons, some of us decided to continue this interaction between the Hindustani and Karnatik musicians in our area. This led to the formation of an informal Karnatik and Hindustani Music Circle (KHMC) in 1995. Since that time KHMC has held nearly 80 house concerts of Karnatik and Hindustani music. The success of this effort is entirely due to the total support and participation of all the musicians in the music community in our area. This development is quite unique in USA, as the Hindustani and Karnatik music communities in the Boston area have essentially become one, working and supporting the propagation to the next generation of our musical heritage from India. In 2008, KHMC became a nonprofit organization under the IRS code 501 (c) (3).

You are quite an icon on the New England music scene. What would you consider your favorite memory of your musical experience in New England.

First, I do not consider myself to be an icon, but one among a very large number of people serving our music community. I came to Massachusetts in 1967. At that time there was hardly any Indian music concerts going on in the Boston area. I have happily seen the growth of the Indian music establishment in our area for the last 42 years. Today, on a given weekend, there may be 4-5 major concerts held in the Boston area and music lovers are forced to choose. Also, the Boston area is now blessed with a large number of very accomplished artists and Gurus of Music and Dance. The children in our Indian community can now get a music or dance education right here, equal to what one would get in India.

You are always kind to accompany dancers. What motivates you to provide that support?

In 1992, Bharatnatyam Guru, Smt. Neena Gulati asked me join her live ensemble supporting student Arangetrams. I was very hesitant, not having any training or knowledge of Karnatik music. However, once I decided to jump in, I was forced to start learning Karnatik music, which I am continuing to this day. There are no words to express my gratitude to Neenaji for opening this door for me to start learning Karnatik music. In the course of these 18 years, I have been privileged to work with a large number of highly accomplished Karnatik vocalists and instrumentalists in our area, who have been extremely generous and supportive of my "continuing education" in Karnatik music. It has also been a privilege to work with several other dance Gurus in our area, including Smt. Poornima Gururaja, Smt. Jayshree Bala Rajamani, Smt. Ranjani Saigal, Smt. Jeyanthi Ghatraju, and Ustad Dulal Taluqdar (Kathak Guru). I will for ever be grateful for their generosity and support. It is always heartwarming to
play for the arangetrams of children in our community, who are mostly in the final years of their High School. This will be motivation enough for me to keep playing for their Arangetrams, as long as I am able to do so.

Do you regret not becoming a full time musician?

No, I do not regret at all, not being a full time musician. I had equal passion for Music and my chosen profession of Physics, and I could not live my life with just one or the other. I have been fortunate to pursue a satisfying Physics career for 46 years. Since my retirement in 1996, I am now able to pursue fully my passion for both the Hindustani and Karnatik music.

Are you hopeful about the future of the  Indian classical Music tradition particularly in the US?

I am very hopeful for the future of Indian music in the US. Starting in1956, the Hindustani and Karnatik Music were introduced in Europe and the US by the pioneering efforts of three great musicians, Violin Maestro Yehudi Menuhin, Pt. Ravi Shankar, and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. Since that time a galaxy of Hindustani and Karnatik musicians have established deep roots of Indian music in the Western Countries. During the last 50 years, a large number of Western students of Indian music have also become accomplished musicians and musicologists of Indian music in their own rights. The Indian music is now well established as a musical heritage for the whole world.

Any advice for young musicians?

There is enormous creativity in the younger generation of musicians. The future of Indian music is now in the hands of the new generation and there is every reason to believe that the genius of the new generation will carry forward the evolution of this heritage. This process has been going on for more than a thousand years, and each generation has enhanced the art according to their own genius.

 Who is absolutely favorite HIndustani and Carnatic musician?

In music, it is not possible to have absolute favorites. As a teenager in 1940s, the music of three musicians made the deepest impression on my heart and soul: Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan,
Smt. M. S. Subbulakshmi , and Lata Mangeshkar. These musicians came from three diverse musical universes and have been my gold standard for the soulfulness, aesthetics, and powerful emotional impact of their music. Later in life, I have been moved by the music of several other Hindustani and Karnatik musicians. These include Ustad Abdul Karim Khan, Ustad Amir Khan,  Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, Pt. Ravi Shankar, Ustad Vilayat Khan, Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Vidwan Maharajapuram Santhanam, Bombay Sisters, Kanya Kumari, Mandolin Srinivas, and Malladi Brothers.

Thank you for your time

Thank you.

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