Ten years ago, Vivek Sonar decided to try out a new concept for the bansuri. A student of Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, he came up with the idea of getting together 35 flautists on the same stage.
The Bansuri Utsav was thus born. And after seeing growth in popularity over the years, Sonar is looking forward to its next edition on April 28. Though he has changed the number of flautists each year, he will stick to 35 this time. The evening will conclude with a recital by Chaurasia.
“Usually, flautists play as part of music festivals featuring different instrumentalists and vocalists. So I thought of having many young flautists play together in symphonic form,” says Sonar.
The flautists range from the age of eight to 85. “Most of them are from the Gurukul Pratishthan I launched. Playing an orchestral movement is very different from playing Hindustani classical. There are harmonic patterns involved, and I have to groom the musicians to adapt,” the flautist says.
While Sonar has used ragas like Hamsadhwani, Yaman, Khamaj, Bhinna Shadja, Pahadi and Bhairavi, he has also added western harmony and chordal patterns. “I am not formally trained in western classical music but I heard symphonies of Beethoven, Mozart, Tchaikovsky and others,” Sonar points out.
Another difference, according to him, is that western musicians read notations while playing. “For this festival, the musicians had to learn them by heart. So you have 35 people all playing different parts and yet coming in unison. At times, there is improvisation, so they have to adapt,” he points out.
Though the flute is the main base, Sonar also uses other instruments like saxophone, trumpet, keyboards, drum, tabla and pakhawaj. “I ensure that the other instruments are never too heavy, as essentially this is for the flute,” he says.
The forthcoming concert will also feature keyboardist Atul Raninga, tabla exponent Ojas Adhiya, Gaurav Murkar on keyboard and side rhythm, and Sachin Nakwa on octopad. Tabla maestro Pandit Vijay Ghate will accompany Chaurasia.
Sonar has been learning from Chaurasia for 20 years. Growing up in Chalisgarh in Jalgaon district, he was trained in vocal music by his father Ramchandra Sonar, who followed the varkari tradition. At the age of eight he found a metal flute at home, and tried to clean it. His neighbour helped him, and Sonar took to playing film songs as a hobby. “Though I simultaneously learnt vocals, my main aim was to become a flautist,” he recalls.
At the age of 15, Sonar began taking bansuri lessons from Purushottam Antapurkar, a disciple of well-known flautist Pandit Vijay Raghav Rao. He recalls, “For many months, he only made me observe his practice sessions. One day he told me to play the song ‘Laaga Chunari Mein Daag’ in raga Bhairavi, which is very difficult for the flute. Satisfied, he let me play the instrument and guided me.”
Antapurkar suggested he take further guidance from Chaurasia. Initially, he made the journey back and forth, but eventually decided to shift to Mumbai. “Learning from Chaurasiaji was a dream come true,” he beams. Sonar says that besides the bansuri, Chaurasia has taught him many things. “Concert etiquette, how to present oneself before people. He has been my biggest mentor,” he adds.
When Sonar suggested the idea of the Bansuri Utsav, Chaurasia was very encouraging. “However, it took me three years to set it up. Writing a symphonic piece required a very different approach. Even today it's a learning process,” he says.
The tenth edition of the Bansuri Utsav will be held on April 28 at the Nehru Centre Auditorium, Worli at 7.30 p.m; for more details see bookmyshow.com
