Musical musings

On February 3,he performed at the 12-hours Swarsharaddhanjali for late Pandit Bhimsen Joshi. “Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and I met in 1953,” he begins,“At that time,I was a music teacher. I would sometimes play music for plays with Chote Gandharva. During one of the plays,Panditji asked me to play for him too for a few programmes and from then on we started working together.”

He was a music teacher for 23 years in a school in Malad. Today,he sees a marked difference in the way music is perceived. “I see a lot of gimmicks being used now. A lot of publicity is given – too soon. Earlier,a music student would do tapa and riyaz for 25 years and then come out. Today,we have children getting exposed to unwarranted criticism too fast. I think the depth has just vanished.”

At the programme,Borkar presented Raag Madhuyamani,which was composed by his guru P Madhukar,followed by a natyageet and an abhang composed by Pandit Bhimsen Joshi. “Panditji was always open to learning which is what separates him from so many others. The will to learn more and more,was quite evident. I also feel that knowing him has made a positive impact on me. We had so much to learn from him,not just in terms of music but also in the way he looked at life. His company was enriching.”