Lord Krishna continues to intrigue human minds with his both god and human-like qualities. He is said to be endowed with all the 64 kalas (attributes). He is someone with extraordinary powers and yet we are able to relate to his magnanimity. Pandit Sanjeev Abhyankar, renowned musician will be presenting various facets of Lord Krishna through his performance “Shyam Rang” this week at the NCPA. There are many raags in Hindustani classical music, which can be moulded into various moods depending on the theme. “In ‘Shyam Rang’ I want to explore the various stages in Krishna’s life. It is going to be a narrative in semi-classical form,” says Abhyankar.
An account of Krishna’s life right from his birth to adolescence to being the Almighty is what Abhyankar plans to explore. The first composition is in Raag Bhatiyar with a lovely couplet that describes Krishna’s birth.
It talks about the newborn baby Krishna, who is so enchanting and tender that you can keep your eyesight fixed on the little child. “It is a very imaginative one that strikes a chord instantly with this composition,” says Abhyankar. The second composition talks about his growing up days and presents the mischievous side of his personality. The tales of him being a cow-herder, makhan chor (butter thief) are well known and Abhyankar presents it in Raag Pilanj. It progresses to the youthful side of Krishna and the tales of Holi frolicking around with Gopis and wooing Radha follow in this composition. The last part of the composition talks about Krishna being that ultimate form of life and being that Almighty that we are in awe of. “There is so much one can take from Krishna’s life and of course his humility comes across as extremely endearing, especially in Mahabharat where he becomes Arjuna’s charioteer,” explains Abhyankar.
He draws a lot of comparisons between cricket and classical music. He says that it happens so often in Hindustani classical music that the concept of raag is often misconstrued. “The possibilities are enormous between the five to seven notes itself and the magic of music lies in the various combinations that they offer,” says Abhyankar. He looks at music from the three dimensional form that cricket is in and says, “Cricket is played within 360 degrees and the principle of the game lies within that space which is enormous.” He believes that a musician is born as a musician. “The process of music has to be spontaneous and complete. Which is why music is known to be inherent and should come naturally,” says Abhyankar. He stresses on the fact that mediocrity just makes life plain dull and boring and the more one explores, the more one is closer to reality and excellence.
Abhyankar looks at every performance as a process of self-discovery and something new to chance upon. “Every new recital or programme starts on a fresh note. I like to approach it the way I would have done in my first performance on stage,” says Abhyankar. And much of the process is spontaneous where one can experience the elaborations in the programme itself.
“The intricacies are all there intertwined in a beautiful pattern that all it takes is a little effort to figure it out,” explains Abhyankar. He was considered to be a child prodigy at the age of eight when he would identify raags by their tunes and not merely the name. And having performed at the age of eleven for two hours, Sanjeev had the music world take up notice of him. Having trained in music from his mother Shobha Abhyankar, Pandit Gangadharbua Pimpalkhare and much later under Pandit Jasraj, Abhyankar went on to receive accolades from the top artistes in the field of classical music and worldwide adulation. After 20 years of an illustrious music career and having performed across 200 cities worldwide, Abhyankar manages to keep his head on his shoulders and doesn’t let any sort of rigidity affect him.
“The appetite for exploration needs to be kept alive. I cannot let my excitement die down and need to keep it constant in my life,” says Abhyankar, who feels that success rate doesn’t depend on the number of shows one is busy with.
“I need my break and can operate only at a particular frequency. Your body cannot be a machine delivering music all the time. I take that break to come back to feel the same enthusiasm when I started out in my early years of training,” says Abhyankar. He takes care of the fact that he doesn’t enter a phase where he begins to take things for granted and even at this stage in life puts in the same amount of effort as ever and strives for more. And adds, “I became a musician by choice and not by profession. So I do take care to not lose that attraction because there can be many distractions.”
He says that music is a constant thinking process. It is all set in the mind with various calculations and patterns and once that is set, half the job is. “You are the captain of your own performance and it is up to you how to plan it. A lot of thinking is put behind any performance without letting in the chalta hai attitude,” says Abhyankar.