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'People are too scared to experiment'
Singer Shubha Mudgal at the release of her latest album, " Sapna Dekha Hai Maine'' in New Delhi on Wednesday.
SOMETHING IS making Shubha Mudgal uncomfortable these days. And the otherwise calm and in-tune vocalist and composer is singing a tune alien to what listeners have heard from her all these years.
``The songs that are being shown today are not even a patch on what the country has to offer. It's a poor reflection of the country's rich cultural heritage. What the audience is watching and hearing today is not good music. People are too scared to experiment. So they take an old song, put in new beats, throw in some young women -- that does not make good music,'' says the singer who was here in Delhi last week for the release of her latest venture, "Sapna Dekha Maine'', an album for underprivileged girls.
So are the listeners at fault? "Have you thought why such songs are being made'' asks Shubha. "Because there is a blooming market for it. People too have the responsibility to put a stop to the push-button kind of instant songs.''
Born in a musically dedicated family, Shubha has been trained by some of the finest musicians and musicologists in India. Trained by Pandit Ram Ashreya in Allahabad, Shubha later moved to Delhi where she received guidance from Pandit Vinaya Chandra Maudgalya and Pandit Vasant Thakar.
She went on to learn stylistic techniques from well-known maestros Jitendra Abhisheki and Kumar Gandharva and received training in "thumri'' from Naina Devi.
``Though my basic training was in the tradition of the Gwalior gharana, my search has always been to assimilate other influences and hence I don't lay claim to the lineage of any particular gharana. It is my association with Pandit Kumar Gandharva which significantly changed my entire perception of music and the shadow of his musical identity is ever present in my work,'' says Shubha.
In addition to being a performer, Shubha has also won recognition as a composer. Her repertoire of medieval mystic and Sufi poetry includes rarely heard texts from the Vaishnava Pushti-Marg poets, as well as the Nirguna poetry of Kabir, Namdev, Amir Khusrau, Nath-panthi poets and other Sufiana poetry. As a result of studying and setting tune for this poetry, she is able to present concerts including "Kabir Parva'' (Works of Kabir), "Meera Parva'' (Works of Meerabai), "Tulsi Prava'' (Works of Tulsidas) and "Soor Parva''.
Shubha claims that she enjoys working with all mediums. She has composed music for dancers ( Aditi Mangaldas, Prerna Shrimali, Sonal Mansingh), ballets (Meera, Parikrama, Krishna Katha) and signature tunes for television serials as well as films. She has also composed for special occasions such as the British Museum's inauguration of the Padsanama Exhibition. Recently she worked with renowned directors including Mira Nair in her film "Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love'' and Rajan Khosa's "Dance of the Wind''.
And yes, she is ever ready to lend her voice for a good cause. "I would like to be associated with projects that are of substances. People will soon get tired of listening to music that is recycled and will finally have to return to the rich traditional base. And the wait will soon be over,'' promises the singer.
By Bindu Shajan Perappadan
Photo: Rajeev Bhatt
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Bangalore
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