‘New talents in classical music needed urgently’

The academy has Pandit Ravi Shankar and Lata Mangeshkar as honorary patrons; and Pandit Jasraj, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Asha Bhonsale, Javed Akhtar and Louis Banks, among others as patrons. Santoor maestro Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma says classical music can be made popular. ‘‘TV channels make excuse that classical music lacks sponsors. But has anyone really tried? Classical music can be very entertaining but initiative is lacking,’’ he says.

Not anymore. The Indian Express has taken the initiative. The last time stalwarts in the field came together was to sing for national integration in Mile Sur Mera Tumhaara, aired on Doordarshan in the late ’80s and early ’90s.

So what comes in way of more such initiatives? Composer and classical vocalist Shankar Mahadevan says one reason is lack of packaging. Twenty-two-year-old Nikhil Koparde, a percussionist who has gurus like Ustad Zakir Hussain, Taufeeq Qureshi and Ranjit Barot, agrees. ‘‘The concept will help our cause. It may help me secure a contract with a music label for an album,” he says. Though established artistes have opened music schools where students learn classical music, there has been no umbrella organisation or platform to catapult talents into national and international arena. ‘‘I have many brilliant performers in my Gurukul but nobody has got platform to showcase talent,’’ says Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia. ‘‘Important thing is that an established name comes forward with patronage from maestros. A known face will create curiosity as people would like to see a face they’ve seen before,’’ he says.

Twenty-one-year-old college student from Pune, Kunal Ulhas Gunjal, is a santoor player who recently shared the stage with Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma. “I am not hungry for money or fame, but more exposure. ‘‘I want to perform as much as possible, but a nation al search will make me concentrate on taking up my passion as vocation,’’ he says. According to Ustad Sultan Khan, ‘‘Taking up classical music needs courage.” The Indian Express academy seeks to celebrate that spirit.