S antoor virtuoso Pandit Tarun Bhattacharya is a pioneer and an innovator in his field of expertise. As the only santoor maestro of the Maihar gharana and one of the foremost disciples of Pt. Ravi Shankar, Pt. Bhattacharya not only revolutionised the santoor as an instrument but also the style of its playing itself. In 1980, for the first time ever, he demonstrated how one can play the ‘meend' or the glide notes at the lower octave in a hammered instrument like the santoor. He also invented the ‘mankas' that help in fine-tuning with ease the 100-stringed santoor to a high degree of accuracy. In addition, his skill in ‘ragdari' as well as ‘layakari’ is legendary.
When he is not travelling and performing at prestigious venues such as the Royal Albert Hall, Palace-de-beaux (Brussels) and the Kremlin (Russia), to name a few, the 53-year-old Kolkata-based artiste runs the Santoor Ashram in Howrah, where he gives free classes. The artiste, who was recently in Thiruvananthapuram for a concert hosted by Samudra Arts International, talks to Friday Review about his musical journey. Excerpts from the interview…
Taking up the santoor
My home was always full of music. My father, Robi Bhattacharya, was a sitar player as was my mother. The santoor was my father's hobby. There were a whole lot of other instruments at home too, all of which I used to fiddle around with. Eventually the sound of the santoor caught my attention.
Gurus and training
My father initiated me into classical music at the age of four. The first raga that he taught me was Sivaranjini. I gave a 10-minute concert with that one raga and I remember how I was given a lot of sweets for my efforts. That's what initially got me interested in giving concerts (laughs)! Shortly afterwards, I began my training in earnest. In short, I performed first and then I learnt the santoor! My first guru, Pt. Dulal Roy, was a family friend and used to come to our house to practise with my father, staying for a few days or weeks. It is from him and my father that I learnt the technicalities of the santoor. Learning under Pt. Ravi Shankar was an eye-opener. For a while, I stayed with him at his house in 95, Lodhi Road (Delhi) and toured extensively with him. And every year when Pandit ji went to Benares, I would go there and learn from him. Pandit ji taught me the intricacies of the raga, how to make mathematical calculations with rhythmic cycles and so on. He would teach with the sitar and I would try it out on my instrument. Learning is a continuous process. At my age it is important to upgrade my software every day.
Improvisations on the santoor
I learnt many things from the sitar that I wanted to replicate on the santoor, especially the gliding notes. For this I modified a string at the lower octave (a very low pitch), which, when pressed or bent, gives a meend-like effect. I have also installed a fine-tuning mechanism called ‘manka' (which resembles a sliding block) in each string that enables one to tune the instrument quickly and effortlessly. This is most useful during a concert when one or the other of the 100 strings go out of tune – which it does frequently. With the manka you will not need to pause to tune the strings. This also facilitates playing ekharatans and boltans. All my improvisations result in a deeper more classical sound for the santoor.
As a teacher
My guru (Pt. Ravi Shankar) never took remuneration. For him teaching was a hobby. This is the principle that I follow in Santoor Ashram in Howrah on the outskirts of Kolkata, where I teach those interested for free. It's a beautiful place where you can do sadhanas under the myriad tress that dot the place. Whenever I am in Kolkata I go there and take classes under the mango tree. I also have around 30 other students from across the world, out of which a handful performs. To quote my guru, I tell them that in order to climb a mountain you have to lean forward and not backward. I insist that my students learn lessons from my daily life as an artiste, for it is important to know what they are getting into. I teach them to be modest. I teach them that Indian ragas are positive elements that have the power to change your mind.
Memorable performances
That has to be the performance at the Royal Albert Hall, London in 1985. Prince Charles and Pandit ji were in the 5,000-strong audience.
Carnatic ragas on santoor
Again this is something I learnt from my guru, who takes Carnatic ragas and plays them in Hindustani. In fact, the santoor and Carnatic percussion blend well together. I like the intricacy of tala in Carnatic percussion and so I often play with Carnatic musicians such as Vikku Vinayakram and his brother Subhash, V. Suresh, K.V. Prasad and so on.
Collaborations
I have collaborated with many Hindustani, Carnatic and Western artistes such as Kadri Gopal ji , Chitravina Ravikiran, Bikram Gosh, Taufiq Qureshi, Ranjit Barot, Sivamani, Jazz musician J.P. Freeman (on the Western African harp), guitarist Fred Hamilton and so on. This is because I want to bring out different perspectives of the santoor. My favourites though are Pt. Viswa Mohan Bhatt (mohan veena) and flautist Ronu Majumdar because we are part of the same tradition. In fact, we are called the golden trio.
