Journalism of Courage
Austrian drummer Bernhard Schimplesberger visits the city every year to perfect the rhythm of the tabla from his guru
What does a musician do when he is married to the drums but the tabla steals his heart? Austrian drummer,Bernhard Schimplesberger,has the answer. I fell in love with the Indian classical rhythms of the tabla while I attended a western music workshop hosted by Pandit Suresh Talwarkar in Austria. I was very impressed by his performance, he says. The former jazz drummer made his first trip to Pune in 2002 to learn the rhythm of the tabla from Talwarkar. I experienced the guru-shishya parampara while training under my guru because he felt it is the best way to teach as well as learn with total focus, says Schimplesberger,who was in the city recently for this training.
In 2011,Schimplesberger collaborated with Datta,to form a production titled Circle of Sound. It is an experience. The shows we host feature music,performance,animation and visuals. As we travel across the world to perform the Circle of Sound shows,we collaborate with local artists to bring a familiar and local flavour to it, he describes. When asked about his loyalty towards the drums in spite of his attraction to tabla rhythms,Schimplesberger tells us that he made a conscious and right decision. Learning the rhythm is one thing,but to learn how to play the tabla is completely different. It has taken me 10 years to learn the sounds,beats and ragas,and I am still a student of my guru. I take time out every year to come to Pune to train under my him, he says. It would take years of practice to perfect the tabla. Since I am good with the drums,I was comfortable sticking to my area of expertise and experimenting with it, adds Schimplesberger who goes by the artist name Taalis,that stuck on even after his experimental band in Austria,called Taalism broke up.
He will perform in Delhi on February 25 at a music festival organised by sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar,and will tour across 10 cities in India with choreographer Akram Khan.
