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Journalism of Courage
When jazz pianist George Duke passed the microphone over to Pandit Vijay Ghate, the 41-year-old tabla exponent introduced himself with an accented 8216;Vee-jaay8217;. Well known in music circles as Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia8217;s blue-eyed boy, Ghate has been the chosen one, partnering international artistes like Jethro Tull, jazz guitarist Larry Coryell and, more recently, jazz masters such as Al Jarreau and Duke.
While the shoulder-length hair and sherwani fit the mould of the classical musician, Ghate admits there is a lot of fine-tuning when he plays with an international acts.
8216;8216;Panditji wasn8217;t very comfortable in the beginning, and I was at an age where there8217;s a great urge to play the bols loudly,8217;8217; says Ghate, recalling his first fumbling concert with Chaurasia in 1991, at Kolhapur8217;s Shivaji University where he taught music. Five years later, the musician made his international debut with guitarist Coryell at London8217;s Royal Albert Hall.
A long journey from hometown Jabalpur, where Ghate witnessed his first-ever tabla concert as a 12-year-old. 8216;8216;I wasn8217;t serious until I saw Ustad Zakir Hussain perform,8217;8217; recalls Ghate. 8216;8216;Those three days changed my entire focus.8217;8217;
The search for a guru began, and Ghate met Pandit Suresh Talwarkar through a close family friend, the reputed classical vocalist Pandit Ajay Pohankar. 8216;8216;It was a struggle, since there was no other musician in my family,8217;8217; he says, 8216;8216;but everyone from Pandit Jasraj to the late Ustad Vilayat Khansaab have been very supportive.8217;8217;
| nbsp; | Bahut suljha hua jamaat hai his music is of a high standard. Whether it is at a vocal recital or a dance performance,Vijay only surpasses himself every time Pandit Jasraj |
After moving to Pune in 8217;92, Ghate became a part of the fusion circuit with Louis Banks. 8216;8216;I8217;m currently focusing on fusion,8217;8217; says Ghate, who is also the director of percussion training at a Chicago-based organisation called Drishti.
So is he headed the Zakir way? 8216;8216;Music is not about learning from a guru, and producing the same sound. That8217;s grammar,8217;8217; he says.
8216;8216;Even a lifetime isn8217;t enough to perfect the sound of this 400-year-old instrument,8217;8217; says Ghate. His hands, however, tell their own story.
Ghate will perform at the Elephanta Festival in Mumbai on February 20
