Has Hariprasad Chaurasia worked with ARR? He played for Ilayaraja on his non-film Nothing But Wind album.
--- In [email protected], Gopal Srinivasan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > What is your take on the current music scene? > The government must do something to revive classical music with support from the media. Today, > news channels feature astrology but don't have a show on classical music. Perhaps, that's > because very few com posers understand its nuances.AR Rahman is the exception. > > > > Flute talkin\' > > Hariprasad Chaurasia speaks to Sonil > > > > On Friday, you paid a tribute to the late tabla maestro Chaturlalji. Yes, it was an elevating > experience sharing the stage with Sitara Devi. Her son, Ranit Barot, along with the father-son > duo of Ajay and Abhijit Pohankar were a part of the concert too. What is your take on the > current music scene? The government must do something to revive classical music with support > from the media. Today, news channels feature astrology but don't have a show on classical > music. Perhaps, that's because very few com posers understand its nuances.AR Rahman is the > exception. > > We're told that you were trained in wrestling. True? Yes, but destiny had other plans. (Laughs) > The dands and baithaks still keep me in top shape. What made you opt for the flute? It's Lord > Krishna's favourite instrument. We are Krishna bhakts and the flute fascinated me since I was a > boy. What memories do you have of your guruma Annapurna Devi? Guruma was to hard a nut to > crack. She was married to Ravi Shankerji then and wasn't interested in mentoring me. In fact, I > wanted to train under her father Ustad Allauddin Khan but my own father would not permit me to > go to Maihar. > > So, I started frequenting Ravi Shankerji's house pleading with guruma to take me under her > wing. She finally gave in. The condition was that I had to forget everything that I had learnt > and start from scratch. What drew you to the movies? Hindi movies were a passion. They gave me > an opportunity to experiment with orchestration. Yash Chopra was ready to gamble with Shiv > Kumar Sharmaji and me. Starting with Silsila in 1980, we composed for several Yash Raj films > including Lamhe, Basera, Parampara and Chandni. Despite a classical base, you've never shied > away from innovation. You can experiment with the flute because the sound is so soothing. > Surgeons have written to me saying that they listen to my music before an operation to ease > their tension and enhance concentration. Lately, I have recorded some alaaps as an aid to > meditaion. Finally, let's talk about Vrindaban, your music school. I wanted to revive the > gurukul tradition with 10 select students. They would study music, watch fellow musicians > perform, attend and give lectures and at the same time learn other subjects too. > > The objective was to give them an all-round education. Vrindaban is not a school for one-line > performers. The training is for only those dedicated to music. > > Hindustan Times >
