Lunedì 20 Giu 2011, 15:33

Thu 16 Jun – Ravi Shankar: Celebrating his 10th Decade An Evening of Ragas

I took my parents to see Ravi Shankar as a present. My knowledge of Indian classical music could not even be called rudimentary, but on reputation alone and the few pieces I had heard over the years I was eager to hear. The free concert notes given to everybody contained the following quote:
"Ravi Shankar has brought me a precious gift and through him I have added a new dimension to my experience of music. To me, his genius and his humanity can only be compared to that of Mozart's." Yehudi Menuhin. Quite possibly the greatest endorsement I have ever heard but after this concert I can clearly see exactly what Yehudi Menuhin meant.

The concert began very gently with Ravichandra Kulur (flute), Pirashanna Thevarajah (mridangam) and a female accompanist (apologies for not remembering her name) performing a piece before the great man joined them with Tanmoy Bose (tabla) and Parimal Sadaphal (sitar and long-term pupil). Each piece was preceded by a brief explanation and followed, as far as I can understand, the same rules from it's basic theme. I would not dream of trying to explain the pieces as that would need the knowledge of a musical scholar, but what I can comment on is my impressions of the evening.

I understood that ragas have essentially a simple core around which the musicians improvise within strict parameters. What I didn't expect was to be so engaged in the improvisations. It was truly a conversation between musicians. It was fundamentally obvious the respect that the other musicians have for Ravi and, in the case of Tanmoy Bose you could see only adoration. Parimal Sadaphal was the only person I could not clearly see but I imagine there was no less from him. The music transported me into a different world, one of which I knew very little but could clearly feel deeply. And as for Ravi Shankar…

The man that took to the stage looked every one of his 91 years and I harboured doubts that he could make it through a concert performance. During the early part of the concert it was obvious that he was not as dextrous as he would previously have been. By the final raga, however, he had clearly warmed up and was beginning to show the musical ability of a much younger man. As this lengthy piece continued to evolve you could see him falling deeper and deeper into the music until I found myself making mental comparisons to Jimi Hendrix. Ludicrous as this might sound it was the only comparison that makes sense. Here was a man transcendent, quite literally on a different plane giving mere mortals a glimpse of a greater reality through music. His concert notes talk of two vibrations; Anahata Nad (unstruck sound - only audible to yogis) and Ahata Nad (struck sound - music and all other sound). It felt like he had opened a window between the two and allowed us to peak inside.

The entire performance was conducted in an aura of humility, respect and playfulness. I am in awe of Ravi Shankar's genius. It was an honour and a privilege and a joy to have been at this concert.