There’s an assuring calm and a twinkle in the eyes of the Hindustani classical singer Yashaswi Sirpotdar on a breezy weekend evening in Hyderabad. A little prior to her performance for the third anniversary of the InContinuum series at Secunderabad club (hosted by the Bararia family), you notice the singer’s child-like smile that radiates our conversation is sustained for the concert too. Yashaswi remains oblivious of the music-loving crowd in front of her as she sings, as if her immediate priorities are only to enjoy herself and soak in a meditative space. You’re not exactly surprised when she opens the conversation with the line, ‘Music is meditation to me’. Performing in the twin-cities is nothing new to her, having accompanied her guru several times over the years. However, the concert holds a special place in her heart, for it’s her first solo concert in this region.
With her grandma being a classical singer, Yashaswi’s musical progress is no surprise either. “But I wasn’t forced into it,” she says, even remembers being asked, if she wanted to pursue it as a career. While her grandma was her first teacher, it was under Padma Talwalkar’s tutelage that her singing blossomed. Her association with Padmatai, as she fondly calls, began at the age of five. “There were times when we learnt the aarohan and avarohan of the same raag for about seven months. It was initially confusing to do that. The fruits are showing up now. Music is a very gradual process. Some aspects that a guru teaches don’t strike a chord instantly and may take months or even years to realise.”
Yashaswi calls for time-bound self-evaluation, i.e. by listening to one’s own concerts in the bid to know their strengths and shortcomings.
“The learning is both from the inner self and the guru,” she mentions. She doesn't hide the little streaks of nervousness every time she enters the stage. “It’s also because everything can’t be under your control as you perform. Sometimes, that’s a necessity to push yourself more and perform better.” As much as she says this, she adds, “It’s equally important to listen to others’ works. The trend somehow is working the other way now.”
She doesn’t feel that the popularity of classical music in the country is being challenged much, even with the arrival of newer music forms. “Every form comes with a certain history and a beauty to it.
They deserve a place in their own way. The onus in fact is on the current generation of classical musicians to carry forward the soul of the form.”
Technology can certainly do its bit to bridge the gap, be it listening, learning music, but Yashaswi says the effort still needs to come from the person. “The online world might ease things yes, but it’s you who has to make the cut.
Online communication trivialises certain aspects too, the guru-shishya parampara is purer and more impactful when it’s direct,” she doesn’t mince words.
