The face is still the same, the one you will remember from Antakshari on the telly from the 90s. But tell musician and TV host Durga Jasraj that, and she demurely protests, saying ‘That was so long ago…like my last janam !’ I dare not remind her then, about her being in the TV serial Chandrakanta .
In this janam , though, Durga, daughter of the legendary Pandit Jasraj, who has accompanied her father in concerts through a large part of his career, has leveraged her musical sensibilities and grounding to set up an entertainment company that focuses on music. Her Idea Jalsa , a TV-based reality music show has been the single largest platform of Indian music that has presented over 7,000 musicians from different genres of music from across India. And she is in the process of resurrecting the Indian Music Academy Awards.
Her latest offering, ‘Panchtatva’, celebrates the five elements of nature with music, animation, soundscapes and poetry. Featuring Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Ustad Rashid Khan, U. Rajesh, Selva Ganesh, Taufiq Qureshi, Ojas Adhiya, Sridhar Parthasarthy, Rattan Mohan Sharma, Ankita Joshi and herself, it was a grand success in Bengaluru this weekend at the lakeside amphitheatre at Orion Mall. The founder-director of Art And Artistes, and co-founder of the Indian Music Academy speaks to MetroPlus about her latest ventures. Excerpts:
Panchtatva, her latest musical production …
It’s a process. You open the newspaper every day and read about glaciers melting, the ban on plastic bags. But, for a person like me, I don’t know what my contribution is by using a paper bag instead of a plastic bag. I don’t connect to such things. I may do it because I’m educated and I’m expected to be responsible. I’m not a scientist or an environmentalist, I react as a musician through my music. Such issues are always working subconsciously in your mind. And then one day you are hit by a tsunami and you know the power of nature. It was only while doing research that I became more aware of how all the five elements exist in our body. And this has nothing to do with religion. It’s the coming together of the elements that makes us human and every element has a tonality and sound to it. I felt it should be visually enriched to involve the younger generation. It was the first Indian production to be invited to the Royal Opera House Muscat, twice.
Her musical performances: withdrawing from centrestage
The reality hit me that there can be only one Pandit Jasraj in one millennium. His level of musicality is unbelievable; you know it’s the best in the world to experience. The gap between us was huge; our aesthetics were different. I realized it will make you unhappy with the level of music you’re able to achieve. Just because I’m born as his daughter…there will be no other Pandit Jasraj. You can look at the negatives and crib that I’m compared to Pandit Jasraj…it’s like walking on fire! Pandit Ravi Shankar once said in a press conference that what he did for Indian classical instrumental music Pandit Jasraj did for Indian classical vocal music.
I decided ‘Why can’t I be myself?’ I took a backseat. It’s not that I’m being escapist. I’m still doing music. You could have called me escapist if I’d moved completely away from music. But I love music; it’s an extension of my being. And I felt I must give my own identity to it.
‘All my creative experiences come together’
I started my company, Art And Artistes, in 1999, as much as a daughter of Pandit Jasraj as I am a grand daughter of legendary filmmaker V. Shantaram. I’m using my modelling and TV anchoring experience and using various concepts to present music. I feel lucky to have been exposed to so many different aspects of the creative world.
Recognising artistes for their work
The Indian Music Academy, set up in 2006, provides medical aid to needy musicians and lyricists, unsung music teachers — people who have pursued music as a profession for over ten years, and who are in bad financial condition. From our point of view, it’s a humble recognition of their work. It’s a no-cash transaction, where corporates like the Aditya Birla Group, Reliance, Piramal — pay the hospital directly for the artiste’s treatment; otherwise the integrity of the effort will be doubted. For example, a lyricist who had worked on more than 110 films, needed dialysis. We arranged for his dialysis at hospital. We also give scholarships and stipends to worthy musicians.
