It was an unusual meeting of sorts that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had on Wednesday. Instead of the usual visitors, be they politicians, bureaucrats or visiting foreign dignitaries, he had as guests some of the leading musicians of the country.
The meeting also wasn’t just a courtesy call as the musicians shared with the PM some of the issues concerning the classical music scenario in the country and what needs to be done. The PM who also holds charge of the culture ministry, in turn, acknowledged the contribution of classical musicians in carrying forward India’s cultural heritage and said it was necessary to have institutional arrangements in place that would encourage classical music.
The musicians who met the PM are part of the All-India Musicians Group (AIMG) and represent the right cultural traditions represented by both Carnatic and Hindustani classical music. Among those who called on the PM were leading Hindustani classical music vocalists, Rajan and Sajan Mishra, flautist Hair Prasad Chaurasia, santoor player Shiv Kumar Sharma, tabla maestro Zakir Hussain and vocalist Ajoy Chakrabarty.
Among those who represented the Carnatic music tradition were T.N. Krishnan, Sudha Raghunathan and U. Shrinivas.
During the meeting, among the important observations made by the PM was to ask the culture ministry to see steps that can be taken to encourage the age-old guru-shishya parampara. The PM said that the ministry’s scheme for professional groups and individuals engaged in performing arts can be revisited to encourage noted gurus and to nurture fresh talent.
The PM also agreed that there is a need to take a relook at the artiste pension scheme of the culture ministry under which a monthly honorarium of `4,000 is given to old artistes living in indigent circumstances. He also supported the idea of a National Artiste Welfare Fund which should be flexible to accommodate the needs of artistes.