The Hindustani classical art form, of which I am a follower or sadhak , in the capacity of a vocalist, is like an ocean — deep, wideand fascinating. I began performing at age 11 and after 35 years as an artiste, I know what it takes to establish a rapport with the rasikas. It is combination of various factors, some that you learn on your own and some that you have been inspired by during your learning period.
Every musician desires that his concert or mehfil becomes an experience for himself/herself and for the audience as well; that it has technical brilliance, manodharma or spontaneity and also the spirituality which comes by a complete surrender to the world of twelve notes.
Rigorous practice
Technical brilliance is seen in his command over his voice. The capacity of the artiste to translate the ideas in his mind vocally is of utmost importance. For this, the musician puts in years of consistent and rigorous practice. It is difficult to quantify the practice required. It depends, mainly, on the concentration one can achieve. Greater the concentration, lesser the practice required and better the results.
During the concert, the artiste evokes many moods such as bhakti, shringar and karuna. So, it is beneficial if he has a repertoire of compositions or bandishes having lyrical content to suit the emotion. A wide repertoire of ragas to create different moods is also helpful. In addition, the compositions set to various rhythmic cycles — 16 beats (teentaal), 7 beats (rupak), 10 beats (japtaal), etc. with variations in their speed also help in keeping the audience engaged. A musician is able to make recurring stage appearances only if he creates, maintains and presents his repertoire in various permutations and combinations.
In addition to musical training and riyaz , a musician needs to take care of his health. During a concert, a singer cannot afford a malfunction of his most prized possession, his voice. In addition to personal preparations and precautions, the auditorium, acoustic treatment, sound output and backdrop too come into play to make the concert perfect. The selection of the auditorium should be such that the gap between the stage and the first row of the audience is not so much that it becomes difficult for the artiste to read the faces in the audience. Lesser gap also encourages more involvement of the audience in the concert.
The sound system should be up-to- date and its operator or sound engineer is one who has a good ear for the type of music being presented. This helps in him adjusting the system so as to bring out the best tones and balance in the sound output, suitable for the genre. Visual appeal is also important for the audience to be focused entirely on the stage. Hence, the backdrop needs to be pleasing and attractive, but not intrusive. The physical appearance of the musicians on stage also makes an impression on the audience and as such should be considered seriously.
The musician designs his concert as per his sensibilities and aesthetics and his ideas of concert presentation. However, in addition to his art, which of course is of primary importance, all these factors come into play and have their rightful place in order to make a concert memorable.
Imaginative approach
I have performed at small Indian towns and swanky auditoriums around the world, at prestigious sangeet samarohs and jugalbandis with Carnatic musicians, whatever be the setting, a musician has to be imaginative enough to tailor his concert to appeal every kind of audience.
My mother Shobha Abhyankar groomed me in the aesthetics of music from a very young age. Then my gurus Gangadharbua Pimpalkhare and Pt. Jasraj honed my skills and helped me develop a distinct approach to music.
What the rasikas hear is what you convey. It is a heart-to-heart exchange.
