Subtle serenade

Few people know that Pandit Shivkumar Sharma is a trained tabla artiste and vocalist. The maestro is better known for bringing the santoor...

Pandit Shivkumar Sharma on an ideal audience

Few people know that Pandit Shivkumar Sharma is a trained tabla artiste and vocalist. The maestro is better known for bringing the santoor 8212;a Kashmiri instrument traditionally used in Sufi music of the region and renowned for the subtlety of its music8212; on to the sanctified platform of Indian classical music. Ask Panditji about it and he enthusiastically launches into the history behind his association with the instrument. 8220;My father had originally thought of introducing it into classical music. I took on the mantle after him and modified the santoor to fit the tonal range required for classical music,8221; he says.

The renowned musician will be playing at the upcoming Raga Rasa Rang concert at the NCPA on Friday, October 26. What does the theme of the concert, Raga and Rasa, have to do with music? 8220;In Indian classical music theory, each raga is accompanied by a certain mood, or rasa. When the raga changes, the mood changes. In fact, many people don8217;t know it, but melody and rhythm work together to create a certain mood, so the tala is important too.8221;

In a country with a long and rich tradition of classical music, the audience for this genre is shockingly limited. The Padmashri winner admits that classical music does have only a niche audience. 8220;But,8221; he says, 8220;The number of fans is growing, not just in big cities like Mumbai, but also in smaller towns like Dehradun and Kota.8221; He adds that he loves performing for an audience which is receptive and attentive. 8220;Many people think that to understand classical music, you need special training. That8217;s not true. If you8217;re a regular and disciplined listener, you understand the music very easily.8221;

Another interesting and little-known fact about the musician is that he partnered with celebrated flautist Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia to create music for five major movies 8211; Silsila, Chandni, Lamhe, Parampara and Darr. How is creating music for a movie different from doing so for a live audience? 8220;Very different,8221; he says, 8220;In a live performance, you get an instant reaction and you8217;re in total control of the music. In a film, the music has to be situational and you have to keep in mind the concept, the script, the location, the characters and other factors. It requires a different kind of mindset.8221;