It was exhilarating to hear the sound of 70 pairs of hands pounding their tablas in unison, under the watchful gaze of ‘Taalyogi’ Pt. Suresh Talwalkar, at SPIC MACAY’s Gurukul at Shri Ram School in New Delhi. As rhythm echoed through the huge hall, participants in the age group of 10 to 30, from across North India, seemed to enjoy every moment of the exhaustive all-day tabla session (to be held again on July 23 and 24). The master appeared as excited as the youngsters, sometimes reciting the taal loudly and sometimes playing along with them. “This is an excellent initiative by SPIC MACAY,” said Pt. Suresh Talwalkar.
Teaching has been a very important part of his musical journey; over the last 50 years, his career as a soloist and accompanist has gradually taken a back seat.
His understanding and experience come from his accompanying doyens such as Mogubai Kurdikar, Krishnarao Shankar Pandit, Vinayakrao Patwardhan and Gajananrao Joshi. Today, the only person he accompanies is Pt. Ulhas Kashalkar, his close friend and guru bhai.
Pt. Suresh Talwalkar introduced the concept of tabla workshops as early as 1973, realising that group interaction is as necessary as one-to-one teaching. He currently trains students in Nashik and Pune at his Taalyogi Ashram and Avartan Gurukul, his percussion schools. Teaching in Dhaka, for the Bengal Foundation, which he has done for several years, will resume in February 2023. He says, “teaching is a natural extension of every musician; it is a must I feel. It is my responsibility to share what I have learnt.”
Pt. Suresh Talwalkar’s teaching method is novel. As 20-year-old Somansh Gautam from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh, who is attending the gurukul, rightly puts it: “He creates a unique ambience, his presence itself is electrifying. His soch on taal is so different and empowering that you are able to extend his formulas, which is amazing.”
Participants at SPIC MACAY’S gurukul | Photo Credit: Spic Macay
Transformative
For Pt. Suresh Talwalkar teaching is not just about turning learners into performers, but primarily into rasikas. “It changes the way a youngster thinks about life and approaches it. Sangeet sikhne mein bahut fayda hai, ek badlav aa jaata hai (There is a great advantage to learning music; a transformation sets in). Also, all teachers have a lot of material to share; my approach is a bit different. I feel when my disciple plays, his presentation should contain elements that are generated from within; my aim is to teach the rasta behind ‘layakaari’. Upaj is an important of training.”
Pt. Suresh Talwalkar’s bond with music began early in life. His father was a pakhawaj exponent, and his uncle, an erudite kirtankar with deep knowledge of the scriptures, raags, and of course, taal. So music came naturally to him. Girgaum in Mumbai, where he lived, was a centre of music in those days. Accompanying kirtankars from the age of eight, the young Suresh gradually went on to train under eminent gurus including Pt. Nageshkar from Goa (incidentally, he was a disciple also of the legendary ‘Laya Bhaskar’ Khaprumama Parvatkar, who unbelievably would keep different taal with each hand, foot and recite the fifth taal), Pt. Vinayakrao Ghangrekar and ‘mridangaacharya’ Ramnad Eeshwar, vocalists Pt. Nivrittibua Sarnaik and Pt. Gajananrao Joshi.
Pt. Suresh Talwalkar’s uniqueness as a performer has been his ability to absorb features of different styles or gharanas. “My tabla has elements of Delhi, Ajrara, Farrukhabad, Benaras, Lucknow, Punjab, and of course, largely, the pakhawaj tradition; not to forget the Carnatic influence. People say I don’t play according to one gharana. I don’t think it’s a disability.” He feels more than belonging to a gharana and playing only that style, it is important to play in a gharanedar way, in your own shaili (method).
You can make a mark only with your individualistic approach. Knowledge can be imbibed from an external source, but art emerges from within. Sadly, some musicians remain limited to just presenting vidya. If you play the same rhythmic pattern 108 times, you will not forget it. But if you play it 500 times, you will master it. When you play it 1008 times, a tej (energy) enters your rendering. Music should have tej.”
His distinction as a tabla player has been well-recognised, which is unusual for a percussion artiste. He is a recipient of the Padma Shri and Sangeet Natak Akademi award. He was bestowed with the honorific of ‘Taalyogi’ by the Shankaracharya of Karveer Peeth in 2001.
Unique ensemble
Pt. Suresh Talwalkar’s multi-layered approach led to his devising a unique ensemble as early as 1994, when he combined percussion, Kathak, melody instruments and vocal music to present tabla in its most diverse form. Called ‘Taal Yatra’, the concept envisaged ‘geetam vaadyam nrityam’ as one; all united by rhythm. Today many percussionists have their own versions of this concept.
“I feel what I have is not really mine; knowledge has been passed on through me. That’s why I have never tied the ganda (the thread a guru ties around his sishya’s wrist) on anyone, I don’t need that ritual. Teaching is a flow. I want my shagird (disciple) to play better than me; to think on the subject more than me. This is the guru’s responsibility, not that of the sishya’s. My gurus felt like this, I can’t take credit for it,” says Pt. Suresh Talwalkar.
Pt. Suresh Talwalkar at the gurukul | Photo Credit: Spic Macay
Follow the beat
Not stopping with taking music and dance concerts to schools and colleges, SPIC MACAY (Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth) is now focussing its attention towards preparing the next generation of musicians. “It’s a logical, organic extension of our work over the years,” says Rashmi Malik, chairperson of the Foundation. Beginning with Delhi, the plan is to conduct such gurukuls across the country. It will include vocal and instrumental in both Hindustani and Carnatic styles. “We let the guru pick the best students for this special training. Our aim is to constantly come up with initiatives that make our art accessible to the young,” she says.
The Delhi-based reviewer specialises in classical music.
