The Liberation Song

The fifth edition of Antarang at the Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav began with an interaction with senior vocalist Pandit Ajay Pohankar from the kirana gharana on Wednesday. Following a Q-n-A format,Antarang has,in the last five years,featured various artistes and brought their stories to the fore. With accompanists on tabla and harmonium,Pandit Ajay Pohankar’s interview was as upbeat as his delivery of raagas and thumris. Accomplished vocalist of the Gwalior gharana,Vikas Kashalkar mediated the event.

Pandit Pohankar has spent almost five decades as a vocalist. Trained by his mother Sushila Pohankar,a musicologist,Pohankar attributed his interest in music to his family roots. “My mother would teach me difficult ragas. She always said that a guru has only a limited field of action. Beyond that,every artiste needs to himself search for the beauty in music,” the singer said. Pohankar believes that knowing the language in which one sings impacts the manner of delivery. “When one knows the meaning of words,there is a lot of emotion. Just following classical music grammar is meaningless,it needs to be tweaked to give emotion,” he stressed.

Pohankar has been working on various fusion projects with his son,Abhijeet. Their album,Piya Bawri,was a major hit. “Most people get confused with fusion. Classical music can be innovated and it can give a whole new dimension to fusion,” he said.