Rare santoor treat awaits Mumbaiites on Christmas
BOMBAY : MUMBAI: Noted santoor player Pandit Shivkumar Sharma will team with son Rahul in a rare jugalbandi concert in Mumbai on December 25.
Apart from showcasing the father-son duo's talent, the programme aptly titled"Santoor Viraasat', will offer a pointer to the evolution and growth of the fabled instrument honed to perfection by Pandit Sharma. "I am happy that Rahul has taken on the mantle. I remember my father (the late Pandit Uma Dutt Sharma) who apart from training me in santoor , prodded me to ahead with the instrument, even as a number of prominent musicians were advising me to take to say, sitar or sarod", Pandit Sharma recalled while talking to this newspaper on the eve of the concert.
"Santoor Viraasat" has been conceived and managed by 'Banyan Tree', an event management group which aims to promote classical music chiefly in the corporate sector. The concert has been sponsored by The Economic Times.
The internationally acclaimed instrumentalist admitted that tutoring someone from the family was fraught with difficulties. 'The thought that Rahul will be compared with me gnaws me. Also, a son has his own ways to turn his father into an indulgent teacher," Panditji laughed
"Comparisons are inevitable. That's the way it is and ought to be," countered Rahul, a commerce graduate and a die-hard admirer of Pink Floyd and the Beatles. "I have been hearing all kinds of music: 'Sting', 'Enigma', for instance. Yet, santoor is very special to me," Rahul claimed.
Pandit Sharma' suspicion about his son's impeccable taste for classical music was confirmed when years ago Rahul, all of 12, outgrew his status as a 'bathroom singer' and began to sit devotedly through Panditji's santoor sessions at their Bandra residence.
"I did not goad him into santoor. My only strategy was to see that he heard good music," said Pandit Sharma.
It was after his graduation in early 1990s that Rahul began a long and rigorous stint under his father. "I started with Raag 'Yaman'; it is still one of my favourite raagas," Rahul declared, adding,"mastering an instrument is an incredible satisfaction".
Though santoor will be his "life long love-affair", Rahul wants to try his hand at composing. "I would love to experiment with notes and laya. Rhythmic movements turn me on," he exclaimed. Rahul made the beginning when he assisted his father who had teamed up with well-known flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia to score music for Yash Chopra's Chandni and Lamhe. "Rahul has done the theme music of Chandni", says Pandit Sharma with a tinge of pride.
The father-son duo performed at the Norway festival in October 1996, followed by a string of concerts in Spain, Italy, and the United States this year.
"It was fun playing with papa", chortles Rahul. Adds Mahesh Babu of 'Banyan Tree', "This is going to be a glorious event. Two santoors have never happened before."
By Ambarish Mishra , The Times of India
©COPYRIGHT 1997 Shivkumar Sharma Associates