Taking music beyond the realm of Bollywood and television reality shows, Idea Jalsa has helped in democratising classical music. Durga Jasraj, Founder and Director, Art and Artistes, who was in the Capital this week to celebrate the 10th year of the event describes it as the change that she wanted to see. This 12-city tour which started from Chennai will be showcasing 150 musicians to music lovers.
Explain the selection process for Jalsa?
The fundamental idea is to always look for newer talent. We conducted a talent hunt back in 2009 and selected 3,500 musicians and again sieved six out of them. At the broader perspective, since big musicians know the basic concept that drives Jalsa, they themselves come up to us and suggest fresh talent, if they have witnessed any.
For instance, Pandit Harisprasad Chaurasiyaji showed me a video clipping in Agartala, where the show was scheduled, of a young girl singing that he liked. I immediately exclaimed, ‘Oh Chachaji! She is Neha Shankar who just performed in Hyderabad!’ This forms the gist of our project wherein suggestions are made to us because it is known that this platform belongs to good musicians, is unbiased, is committed to real music and one does not have to be a big daddy’s child. All what is seen is good talent.
How do you see your role in the growth of the event
Honestly, I am not the catalyst, music is. I have always been taught to love music and not the musicians. There is a big difference. I have been coached that if you want to do something, you need to help yourself and be the change you wish to see. We had surprise visitors like Lataji and Birju Maharajji at home when I was young. Legendary music composer C. Ramchandra used to come every morning at our home after his morning walk. All in all, my exposure has always been beyond imagination. The core is music and we are mere shoots. My father may be river Nile, and I am only a drop – all connected to the core.
How do you deal with increasing mediocrity in music?
It is simply not acceptable. Mediocrity is a sign of laziness and lack of introspection. All of us have that one unique spot that needs to be acknowledged and once we start focusing on it, everything else easily falls into place. If I venture into becoming a journalist or an actress, then I’ll be mediocre. My strength is music and I want to nurture that. There is simply no short cut to success. One has to work hard. One literally needs to make the adage edhiyaan ghisna come to life. Sometimes, when my shoes wear off, I am happy and satisfied that I am working hard.
Has singing and anchoring taken a backseat?
Not really. Every experience of mine bore fruit. Earlier, I thought of producing a half-an-hour show on classical music, but that never took off. I was friends with media channels then, and when Zee offered me Antakshri, I thought to make use of the opportunity to reach out to the larger audience so that I am heard more seriously. My claim to fame, then, was my music lineage. Cashing in on my ancestral richness was not on my list, surely. It was important for me to stand out as a separate identity and as an individual who has something to say.
I produced 26 episodes on a project based on Indian music on Star Utsav and this was enriching in itself. And by the time, it was aired in the US, Jalsa had already taken off.
