Watching Harpist Greg Buchnan play a pedal harp on television, made this ten-year-old fall in love with the instrument. She wanted to play it too. But the pedal harp was not only expensive, but not easily available in India. That did not deter Meagan, who learnt the rudimentary grammar of music on the piano.
Years later, her dream became a reality. And Meagan Pandian was in Chennai recently to play the harp for the silver jubilee celebrations of Odyssy book shop’s live, monthly, conversation series, ‘Bliss Catchers,’ curated by AVIS Vishwanathan. She talked about her musical journey, before her concert at the cultural space, ‘Wandering Artists,’ co-hosts of the event.
Having only seen images of a harp on sculptural reliefs or in historical movies, coming face-to-face with this majestic instrument of 47 strings, and hearing the music, was a fascinating experience.
“Music was a passion in our family. My three siblings and I were home-schooled, and received musical education alongside. Formal piano lessons, singing and playing with the church choir and writing Trinity College exams were a part of my musical foundation,’’says Meagan.
She won the Young Musician of the Year 2014 scholarship for piano, which took her to France, where she met harpists. The childhood dream was reignited on her return to India.
Her search led her to an American harpist who began teaching her. “The desire to possess a harp became stronger though it was prohibitevely expensive. After two weeks of classes, my teacher, who was returning to the U.S., was ready to sell her harp. And thus, the harp came into my life.”
Later, she met another visiting harpist who taught her for four months and continues to teach her through skype. . Having cleared a few levels of Harp exams, she now presents concerts across the country to popularise the instrument. Besides her solo concerts, she has collaborated with other musicians including A.R. Rahman, for the ‘Tu Hai’ show, and with Arijit Singh.
Harp (similar to the yazh in Tamil literature and arts), made out of wood, has seven pedals, each having three notches. It cannot be dismantled. The instrument weighs 35-40 kg. The strings are plucked using eight fingers and needs the co-ordination of hands and feet.
Meagan began her performance with two compositions, Gavotte and Cannelle by French musician Bernard Andres. She moved on to various genres such as ‘Amazing Grace’; a rhythmic fast paced composition, First movement Sonata in C minor; and a touch of flamenco in La Cumparsita.
The instant connect with the audience happened when she played the popular film song ‘Vaseegaara ,’ ‘Badal Barse’ and ‘Tum Hi Ho’.
“My mission is to make people aware of this instrument. I would like to start a school to enable youngsters to learn it. Again, the cost of the instrument could be a deterrent for students. But I hope to make my dream of establishing a Harp school a reality too,” she says with conviction.
The artist ‘s contact https//www.facebook.
com/harpistinindia/
