Sound on Sound

It never happens overnight. There has to be a beginning,a genesis along with timely interventions in the form of the right attention,right care and right exposure. Unlike rock and pop which speeds in life’s fast lanes,classical music,no matter how many modulations and interpretations its subjected to,will always remain slow and steady. “And trying and testing,” smiles classical vocalist from Sangli,Maharashtra,Manjusha Patil. In town for the 32nd Chandigarh Sangeet Sammelan,Manjusha credits the musical atmosphere at home for her steady growth and ‘rujhaan’ towards this pious form. “For a child to learn,understand and appreciate music,he has to be in an environment charged with it,” feels Manjusha for whom life sums up in music. “Instead of making them Tansens,make children ‘kaansen’,fine tune their ears and rest will follow,” she prescribes a good diet of music which is not just limited to heavy raagas but classical Hindi film music composed by great directors like Shankar Jaikishen and Naushad. An exponent of the Gwalior-Agra gharana,she thanks her guru,Kane Buwa,for exposing her to the various ‘shailees’ of other gharanas,and perfecting her in the art of rendition and performance. “Riyaaz is one thing,performing it in front of connoisseurs is another. At home,it’s a prayer,but on stage,it has to attract the listener,” feels Manjusha who puts her 12 years of gurukul shiksha to use and mesmerises the audience. While she’s busy taking music classes on Skype,teaching students in the US and Dubai via distance learning,Manjusha’s next project is to try fusion,with voice and instrument. Which brings us to the other doyen of the day – Pakistan’s Noor Zehra Kazim and her unusual instrument,the Sagar Veena.

“It’s my first time in Chandigarh,” she flashes a warm smile and rewinds to the genesis of the ‘Sagar Veena’. “It’s my father,Raza Karim’s labour of love,” Noor encapsulates 40 years of the reasons and various experiments with sound,all that went in to give shape to one of the most perfectly ‘sound’ instruments on earth. “It is the only one of its kind for my father wanted to preserve classical music tradition. He didn’t want our roots to be eroded by the West,so he designed the Sagar Veena,” but it’s not that easy for like a butterfly,the instrument went through a metamorphosis,one which continues to date. In his quest for the perfect sound which comes closest to the human voice,Raza Sahib moved from Kachua to Vichitra Veena to now,the Sagar Veena. “And I’ve been playing it for him,” 15 years later,in March 1994,he gave the world Sagar Veena. “My playing has been subordinate to his change,and it has been frustrating!” what took physical strength earlier to handle the mammoth instrument settled on two gourds and bridged by a jowari – which is the spine,the core from where it gets its energy,Noor has moved to playing it with mental strength now. “I have to re-tune my muscular and nervous system for it,” she smiles,adding how the experiment is still on. “He won’t rest till he gets it right. But over the years,the sound resonates,has amplified,and there is more clarity and musicality to it.” That’s what we cal sound impact. Tune in to their music at the Chandigarh Sangeet Sammelan fromOctober 23 to 25.