The incessant rainfall outside does not dim the rhythm of the mridangam beats inside the house of K.U. Jayachandra Rao. The young voices rendering a krithi reverberates through the halls alongside the pitter-patter of young feet. “Things get quite busy around here during summer,” explains Jayachandra. There is a lot of excitement on his face. Summer has indeed set in and along with it, the Jackfruit project by Bhoomija is once again set to regale the audience of Bengaluru. This time it is a feast of percussion ensemble that is waiting to capture the hearts of population. Through this performance by 11 young artists less than 16 years of age, Jackfruit project aims to continue its tradition of providing outstanding performances through these youngsters from all over India. These children are being trained by Jayachandra Rao and Ghatam Giridhar Udupa – two of the most renowned and admired percussionists from the current generation.
“The percussion ensemble is actually a coming together of four genres of music,” explains Jayachandra. “It’ll be a confluence of Carnatic, Hindustani, Western and Folk music. There are a variety of percussion instruments like mridangam, ghatam, morsing, tabla, pakhawaj, narikela (coconut shells), drums, tavil, and even chande-maddale.”
It is no small task to be training these talented young minds and Jayachandra agrees, “There are some folk artists who have had no exposure to traditional music tutelage. They were initially hesitant towards being a part of this but we were able to convince them of their abilities and make them join the group. The whole programme is structured to make everyone comfortable and to make this an enjoyable experience as well as an enriching one for the children.”
Adding on, Giridhar explains “We began the preparation quite early on – touring across different parts of the country and meeting artistes. Each of them were very well trained and excelled in their respective forms. We had to bring them all together and enable them to imbibe something of another genre and work together.” Thus team work would be a good takeaway for the children. The idea they both have in mind is for these youngsters to get exposed to other forms of music and their intricacies. To that extent, the ensemble provides them a platform to not only showcase individual talents but also compare and contrast with other forms of music. There are jugalbandi compositions where the artists tango through their instruments. And then come together without one over-riding the other. When kids are involved, fun can never be left behind! Bring that up and Jayachandra and Giridhar perk up with smiles on their face. “We have planned so much for the kids. They’ll be training with us for nearly five to six hours each day and we want to make it as much fun as possible,” quips Jayachandra. Giridhar Udupa has already made arrangements at his house for training these kids. “I really become a kid with them. It is so much fun! You forget your age when you are with such young, bright and energetic minds around you!” Giridhar is barely able to mask the excitement!
Jayachandra and Giridhar are unequivocal in their admiration for each other and to Bhoomija. “Working with Giridhar is a homely experience – whether on stage or off stage, we are so much in sync, it has seized to amaze me that whatever I have in my mind, he’d have a similar thought when composing! It’s like working with your own brother!” says Jayachandra. “Bhoomija is probably the only organization that is so committed to regularly conduct such exquisite programs for the benefit of children that bring many young artists to limelight and give them an opportunity to work with some of the best artists of our country,” Giridhar added.
“The eventual outcome of this whole exercise would be for these children to realize the importance of practice and patience. The younger generation today is so brilliant and creative – it is astounding to watch their minds work. But they need to give particular attention to practising every day and develop patience for the art form. The parents seem to want the kids on stage in no time once they begin learning music. This will only lead to mediocre performances for the sake of popularity. Indian music is one of the richest forms of art in the world, and these kids have a lot to contribute to its growth,” envisions Jayachandra.
Giridhar concurs while adding, “Each of the 11 kids is so musically gifted! I want them to scale the peaks of artistic excellence and we hope their experience with us will provide them with just that stepping stone.”
