The center of Indic studies and Indian student association of University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth presented a Hindustani Classical Sitar concert entitled “Soulful strings – In Memoriam” on September 11, 2010 to mark the 9/11 anniversary with a music offering. The sitar artist was Smt. Anupama Bhagwat  and she was accompanied by Pandit Samar Saha on tabla.

Smt. Bhagwat started her recital shortly after 6:00p.m with a 45 minute long, sombre presentation of Raag Shri, short alaap followed by gat in 10 beat cycle, jhaptaal  with a poignant refrain (mukhra) landing squarely on the most important note of the raga, namely rishabh.  She explored all 3 octaves comfortably , and was at ease with rhythmic play (layakari) . Her melodic elaboration unfolded Raag Shri’s elegance in great measure and created an atmosphere of tranquility. Pandit Samar Saha on tabla, a senior musician and a seasoned accompanist of Benaras Gharana provided mature and sensitive accompaniment to Smt. Bhagwat.

The second part of the recital was a presentation of Raag Yaman Kalyan. She preceded her recital with a brief explanation of alaap, jod and jhaala components for the benefit of a largely western audience. Smt. Bhagwat created a picture of Raag Yaman Kalyan within 15 minutes, offering a beautiful peek at shudh madhyam in the raga. She followed alaap, jod, jhaala with a composition in medium temp 16 beat cycle teentaal followed by another composition in faster tempo of the 16 beat cycle. Pandit Saha provided a basic theka giving all the prominence to the sitar, embellishing with varied tabla strokes and sounds at suitable moments. Smt. Bhagwat delighted the audience by playing fast tans, unleashing them in torrents from high notes going up and down the Yaman Kalyan scale showing great mastery over her instrument.  She ended the composition in a surprise twist by slowing down the tempo considerably.
Smt. Bhagwat ended the concert with a folk tune in Raag Pilu set to 6 beat cycle dadra taal followed by a rendition of Mahatma Gandhi’s favorite bhajan “Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram”.  

Mario Carloni, a Political Science major at UMASS and a guitarist said “ The concert was refreshing. I was amazed at the range of emotions and sounds that can come out of a simple instrument”.

Professor Balram Singh, director of center of Indic Studies at UMASS Dartmouth thanked the artists and the audience and said in his concluding remarks that music is a language in itself and gives expression to inner feelings.

Shuchita Rao spoke to Smt. Anupama Bhagwat – here are excerpts of the interview.

 
When did you start learning to play the sitar?

At the age of nine, I started learning the basics of sitar from Shri R.N. Verma.

Who has been your main Guru and what Gharaana do you belong to? Could you please describe your Guru?

At the age of thirteen I was blessed by the guidance of the illustrious Acharya, Pandit Shri Bimalendu Mukherjee, the renowned musician and musicologist, and a doyen of the Imdadkhani Gharana of sitar.
Pandit Bimalendu Mukherjee was primarily a Sitarist, though he was proficient in almost all traditional Indian instruments like RudraVeena, Saraswati Veena, Surbahar, Sursingar, Mandrabahar, Dilruba, Esraj, Tar Shehnai, Sarod and Pakhavaj. He was equally adept in vocal music.

What was your Guru's teaching style?

His profound teachings reflected the Gayaki “Ang” of Sitar playing. There was no fixed style of teaching that Guruji followed.  In fact, for him each student was a different experiment.  And he would carefully study each student’s interest and response, and would guide accordingly.
He would sometimes sing a raga and slowly unfold it, and I would follow, or he would play the Sitar, or Saarangi and I would follow him on Sitar. Then after that raga, sometimes he would go into a Thumri or Hori. In short, each lesson was always a musical surprise.


What is your preference in music? Who do you like to listen to other than your Guru and artists of your Gharaana?

Actually, I prefer not to have any preference. I do find myself listening to a lot of Hindustani Vocal as well as other styles of instrumental music, including Pandit Nikhil Banerjee, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, and many other great maestros.

When was your first stage performance? Do you recollect any significant musical event (such as a great performance that you attended, a great lesson you learned from your teacher, a great performance that you gave) in your early years?

My first stage performance was when I was eleven years old and still had not gone to Pandit Bimalenduji for music training.

Every musical event was a part of the learning experience and every lesson seemed to be equally great so it’s really hard to point to a specific event in this direction.  The significant part of my association with my Guruji was not only the music that I learned, but also in receiving deep insights and vision that he would generously share with us by narrating stories and experiences from his life.

What is the kind of music practice or riyaz you have been able to put in your earlier years? Has that changed over time?

My Guruji always said that the best outcome from the riyaz happens only when the sitar attracts you and you feel a desire to play.  So I did not involve in any extraordinary riyaz pattern. However, as a teenager, I do remember that my focus of riyaz was to play fast and clear, but slowly that urge subsided and music took over.

I do try to incorporate all the aspects of instrumental playing in the regular riyaz as it is  similar to the idea of keeping oneself fit.

Why did you decide to make music your career?

I strongly believe that we are all here for a certain purpose in life and with blessings of elders and Gurus, I could recognize that inner passion of music as my path and follow it. Music was the only thing I was doing since childhood apart from going to school and getting a science degree.  And I realized that after all the effort that Guruji had put in teaching me, if I had pursued another field, it would be injustice to my Guru's efforts and hence - I chose music as my career.

How would you define your music? What are some special features that you are able to bring into the world of music and what are your ideals as a performer?

I feel that my Music is “Pravaahi” and it keeps changing as I change and grow. After all, it is self-expression. I do like to keep the tradition fresh as my music grows.

As an individual, I don’t know how much difference I can make in the world of music. However the endeavor is to remain true to the traditional music that  my Gharana is following, and to retain and preserve the spiritual form of Indian music.

As a performer, I would like to experience the blissful essence of music in my innermost being, and hence impart the same kind of pleasure to the audience who decide to join me in my journey at that time.  Ideally, I would love to have the music unfold in front of me, rather than me trying to create something new.

How are you able to bring in innovation into our traditional system of music that has a foundation of immutable rules and grammar?

The only way to enjoy a raga (to the extent of residing in it), is by not thinking that it is bounded by rules and Grammar.  My Guruji always said “Don’t worry about the notes as much; try to get the “Bhava” of the Raga. Once you get the Bhava right, the notes can never go wrong”.
Taking into the consideration the fact, that God has created each individual to be unique, the only possible way to bring innovation in this vast world of music is to be “oneself”.  By being true to myself and being an open channel of expression, I feel that the same raga will still sound unique because it is my personal outlook of the raga.  That is the beauty of Indian music.

Do you teach music? What kind of changes in attitude/resources do you see from the students of your generation vs. the current generation?

I do teach music. I have a few students who understand my teaching style. The change in attitude is natural as the world changes. My learning style from my Guru was different than his learning style from his Guru. Similarly, my students have a different learning style than I had when I was learning from my Guru.  I feel that the best way to proceed is to recognize that and to work with it.

Could you share a long term or a lifelong goal that you have?

Long term Goal – Well!!!  I think living in the present and enjoying the Music as the gift of GOD is my only lifelong goal as of now.

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