Tarun Bhattacharya, to date, is among the rarest of musicians across the globe to have fashioned his instrument to work amiably for both classical and fusion concerts. Having a fusion group of his own, he’d channelised his efforts for an interesting light-music spin to patriotic compositions in the One World Fusion act, held at Ravindra Bharathi, Hyderabad on August 15. The pick of the lot was the way he blended his versions of Vande Mataram (one in a melodic space with Western elements interspersed, the other piece titled ‘Dreams’ that has a romantic dimension) to the original one, set in Desh raga. A little prior to his act, he caught up with us for a conversation.
“Every Independence Day, I do my bit for the nation and celebrate through music. Every year, it’s a new group, with musicians whom I haven’t played before. One memorable event was to play for the Janaganamana in a television programme few years ago,” he mentions.
With the proceedings of the concert being donated to the benefit of autistic children, Bhattacharya is particular to assert the social responsibility of musicians as citizens.
“Yes, we do perform for money, but like how doctors, teachers or journos do their bit to ensure a better society, we ought to do our bit through this medium. In the past, I tried my part by associating with polio-eradication, eye donation campaigns. The entire money earned from an event I did in Germany, went to benefit street children.” He even remembers an event he did with flautist friend Pravin Godkhindi (with whom he performed in Hyderabad) for the blind.
He’s shared good equations with his co-performers, tabla player Shubankar Bannerjee, played with the father of Gino Banks (Louis Banks) and happy to have associated with likes of George Brooks for the first time. How does he produce good results with his collaborators despite the minimal rehearsal time prior to a concert? “I make sure everyone is well aware of my pieces in advance. Sometimes, it’s best that I give them the freedom to play to their strengths,” Bhattacharya mentions.
Speaking on the products of on his own academy and the difference in the generation of students over these years, he states, “The equation between them and me is more formal now. It’s not possible to spend time with them so much, unlike the past, where a group accompanies the performer to most places they go. A lot of people learn through Skype, online classes and apps nowadays. Despite many requests from artistes, I haven’t taken up online classes to date. That is fine when they have reasonable familiarity in what they learn. For beginners though, nothing works like a personal interaction with a guru. Bhattacharya’s happy with the responses for his latest album. “Whenever I make music, I do my best to connect to the coming generation,” he signs off.
