In the many decades since George Harrison’s brief dalliance with the sitar gave Indian classical music a short-lived rock status in Britain, the following for the genre has become niche, confined to enthusiasts from within the South Asian diaspora. The isolation of the rich and complex musical traditions of the Indian subcontinent from the mainstream currents of classical music in Britain is evident, especially so in a country where Western classical music enjoys an enviable centrality in the cultural life of its people.
It was to gain recognition for Indian classical music as a separate genre that Darbar was set up 10 years ago. Darbar’s annual festival has become a much talked-about event in the city’s cultural calendar. It was started in 2006 by a young accountant, Sandeep Virdee, in memory of his father Bhai Gurmeet Singh Ji Virdee, an inspirational teacher and lover of Indian classical music in Leicester for over 30 years.
Today, it’s the Darbar Festival that kicks off the South Bank Centre’s prestigious classical music season, a point underlined by Gillian Moore, Head of Classical Music at the centre, located on the banks of the Thames. “I don’t like Indian classical music being called ‘World Music’. It is a classical genre, and we have established that now,” said Mr. Virdee, who also curates the Festival . “Our audiences have grown from 1,600 in 2006 to 7,000 or 8,000 this year, which is phenomenal for a niche genre. People here have become consumers of Indian food and yoga. It’s time they accepted Indian classical music.”
Mr. Virdee argued that this approach of keeping the focus on top-notch artists backed by technically uncompromising production and sound quality, has paid off handsomely. “We don’t specifically target Asian audiences. This year 50 per cent of the audience was non-Asian. When we started it was 80 per cent South Asian. Darbar is attracting a larger but also more diverse and serious audience.”
“Darbar is an oasis in a desert,” said Narindra Maheshwari, who with his wife Sudha Maheshwari, a former producer with the BBC, is a regular at the Darbar. “They have played an important role, as you can see from the mixed audience and their appreciation.”
The Darbar organisers make it a point to invite relatively new artists each year, to encourage new talent. This year, in addition to names such as santoor maestro Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, rudraveena expert Ustad Bahauddin Dagar, Hindustani vocalist Kaushiki Chakraborty, Carnatic vocalist sisters Ranjini and Gayatri, and sitar and surbahar exponent Ustad Irshad Khan, there were several lesser known artists as well. For Dhrupad singer Pelva Naik and veena player D. Srinivas, Darbar was their debut abroad.
“Darbar is a prestigious festival that all Indian musicians want to perform at,” said D. Srinivas. “I am not a big name in India, and I could not believe it when I received a call from Sandeep inviting me to the Festival.” Pelva Naik, one of the few female singers of Dhrupad in a male preserve in India, was asked to stay on to give an immersion course in Hindustani vocals for a group of learners.
Ustad Bahauddin Dagar played at the very first Darbar festival, and is closely associated with the organisation and its activities. “I come here to honour the memory of Bhai Gurmeet Singh Ji Virdee, a wonderful teacher and human being who introduced a lot of young people to classical music. I like the fact that they take risks by inviting young artists. It is also a great atmosphere. We get to spend time together and discuss music, something you don’t get to do at other festivals,” he said.
The Darbar Festival is held in association with Sky Arts and receives funding by the Arts Council of Britain. This year, Darbar has collaborated with the Victoria and Albert Museum on ‘Musical Instruments of India,’ an exhibition currently showing, which has a large collection of ancient Indian musical instruments. It has extended the exhibition to an online platform, which hosts videos of contemporary masters in India playing the instruments on display.
Between festivals, the Darbar Trust engages in several outreach programmes. In Leicester, it has tied up with schools to provide music training. In London, it works with Shishukunj, where it provides out-of-school music teaching for young people.
With several Indian cultural forums in the UK winding up because of cuts in funding from the Arts Council, Darbar, if it is to survive, must look for new ways ahead. “The financial sustainability of Darbar is totally linked to musical and audience sustainability,” said Sanjeev Loomba, a trustee. “The Arts Council has given us secured funding for three years. Secondly, Darbar has built up a brand and market visibility that is forever there.” He, however, conceded that there was a need for finding new revenue streams to keep the project going. “There is so much goodwill. In the future, we hope to become a digital and performing platform for people who wish to derive different forms of sustenance from Indian classical music.”
