USTAD SACHIN TENDULKAR – The musician in cricket

Whenever I see Tendulkar I am reminded of Ustad Zakir Hussain for more than one reasons. Being a huge cricket fan myself, having played cricket in my school days and also being a musician I feel I have the right to compare these 2 giants in their respective fields. I have watched both of them closely while they perform their duties. Both of them have many things in common, both are completely committed to their field, both are immensely passionate about their playing and both have a common cause – of making all Indians proud, with their talent and above all their humility.

My earlier memory of sachin is when he first appeared on television as a fierce batsman hitting Abdul Quadir’s leg spins out of the park in Pakistan. I realized in that very match that India has found a great talent in him. His exquisite timing, footwork and elegance had me in awe. I remember his flicks off the pad against Imran, Waqar and Akram as the most delectable. His late-cuts off the spinners have always been a treat to watch. His plus point always has been his ability to remain calm and cool even in the most demanding of situations. And the array of shots that he can produce is simply unimaginable. There was a time after Gavaskar exited from cricket and my seniors would point out that the straight bat shots were gone with him. Sachin not only took off from where Gavaskar had left but surpassed him with glorious results. I was always a fan of azharuddin for his flicks off the pads, a shot with his tongue out, which always resulted in a boundary. I used to watch him in the nets in Hyderabad where I used to practice, but sachin’s flicks off the pads became much more lethal, serene and effortless and I think that’s because sachin added that bit of extra power from his lower hand which gave him the option of placing the ball more accurately. Likewise he improvised many more cricketing shots like the leg-glance, the sweep and the drives so as to fetch more runs depending on the field placement.,

Coming back to the simili between the ustad and the little master both have an acute sense of anticipation which is undoubtedly the most important quality needed for both a batsmen as well as a musician. Zakir bhai’s mind reading and anticipatory skills are quite evident when he is accompanying Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma and Pandit Hariprasad Chourasia. He simply catches the main artiste’s thoughts within a fraction of a second and then just lets his flow of music to get interspersed with theirs to create magic. His sawaal-jawaabs with the other artistes on the stage are simply mind boggling irrespective whether it is Mandolin srinivas, John McLaughlin, Hindustani, carnatic, western or any other artiste/music around the world. This acute sense of anticipation makes him the Ustaad that he is. This very quality of guessing the opponent’s thoughts also becomes utmost essential, even for a cricketer. And that, sachin has in abundance. So, most often than not we see other batsmen struggling to play a particular bowler but sachin makes it look so effortless because not only has he the ability to guess what is going on in the bowler’s mind but also has the ability to dominate the proceedings to such an extent that we see the bowlers as well as the fielding captain struggling to contain his shots. Just like the Ustaad, sachin also seems so friendly and encouraging on the field that his presence itself boosts the morale of his team mates.

Some of his shots can be compared to the sound of different music if I may dare to. The paddle sweep shot mostly played against the off-spinners reminds me of the ‘trill’ of a santoor. His late-cut and cover drives remind me of the ‘murkis’ of Pandit Basavaraj Rajguru, perfect in timing, perfect in elegance and in one single flow. Some of his on drives and extra cover drives remind me of the strong and long Taans of none other than Pandit Bhimsen Joshi. They are simply majestic and full of strength and confidence. His lofty drives, his pulls, his signature lift shot over the third man remind me of Ustaad Zakir, simply because the shots are so perfect and well carved that nobody else can reproduce the way he does them.

After completing his hundredth hundred, sachin has achieved something impossible. A daunting task to say the least. All in all let us salute the Ustaad of cricket, who has given millions of Indians such a great thing to feel proud through his achievement. How I wish someone could actually compose a symphony on the shots of sachin. Choose from the wide array of shots, slow-mo them and write music, an interesting thought isn’t’ it?

Madhurani - A legend..

Hello readers,
I was listening to my favourite radio programme 'guldasta', gazals on vividh bharathi AIR, the other day. By the way that has been one my favourite programme since college days. And i happened to listen to this great singer whom i have been so attached with, Madhurani. OH MY GOD!! She is just phenomenal to say the least. I don't know how many of you have heard her ghazals. The precision of notes and the impeccable murkis in her gayaki make her the best female singer at least in the field of ghazals. Check this link if you wish to listen to her. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsR-p5Gfvnc
Ignore the video and concentrate on the composition and the rendering. I am sure you will all agree with me. Kya dard hai awaaz mein. tried to find her albums in the market but none of these youngsters have heard her name. Penaz Masani happens to be one of her students.

The sad part is that we rarely find any info about her anywhere. I found out that she last released an album sometime in 1996. Wish we could get to listen to more of her recordings.
If you come across another ghazal 'dil ko sukoon rooh ko aaraam aa gaya', then please let me know.
My pranams to this great singer, composer.

Meeting a great soul..

Hey guys,
I was on my way back to Bengaluru after a great jugalbandi concert with Pandit Tarun Bhattacharya in LA. Was fiddling with my latest gizmo the iPad, in the plush lobby of Frankfurt airport, when a curly-haired, well-built personality walked upto me and this is how it went....
He : "Aren't you the flute player from India?, oh ! man!! I don believe this... You are simply awesome man.. I really don't believe this".. I got up slowly and shook his hands and he hugged me tightly. I wasn't sure who this gentleman was.
Me : Sorry sir, i didn't get your..."
He : Oh me? I am...(He told me his name but read on till the end and find out..)
He : "I saw your videos on the youtube and visited your website, ummmmaaaah they are out of this world..They pierce right here man.. " He thumped his chest with his fist."You are so .. so gifted prrravin. I have been researching on different techniques of flute playing and developed this flute, i got to show you" and started demonstrating a unique bansuri with 13 holes. By this time the whole of gate B25 and B26 crowd was watching two crazy musicians with awe. He is one of the most sought after flutist in the world. He has learnt from Pandit Hariji, Pandit Ravishankarji, learnt jazz in europe and US. He is settled in LA and regularly plays with world musicians like Anoushka, Paul livingston, Yanni and many more. He has invented a flute that has 13 holes and can produce all the komal and shuddh swaras just like in the Bansuri. He calls it THE KING BANSURI. He has heard most of the flautists world-over, specially all those living in India. He has analyzed all our playing styles. He is a dynamite on stage. A great believer in Jesus. He has mastered no less than 25 different wind instruments. More than anything else HE HAS A GREAT SOUL, A beautiful heart. His name is Pedro Eustache.
I was floored when he showered heaps of praises. He actually asked a fellow traveller "Do you know this guy?, you don't? what a pity, because he is one of the greatest flautists from India." I was embarrassed to say the least. Both of us played flute squatting down in the airport, discussed many great techniques, He showed me some wonderful head-joints for flutes representing different countries, each producing a different tone. I recorded a clipping on my mobile and he said " I should be taping you, you are much better player than me.. You are a star". We drank coffee, hugged at least 10 times in full view of the public. Then it was time for him to leave. He went to turkey for a teaching assignment. I just said to myself "WHAT A GREAT SOUL"
Is being humble a quality that we need to develop over the years or is it the one that comes with birth? Just like any Art, humbleness is also a gift of god which can be nurtured to great heights with constant practice. Pedro is immensely gifted with "this" art. Or else why would he need to check my videos and remember my face. And he could have simply ignored me in the airport. And he didn't have to demonstrate his flutes, tell me small secrets. WHAT A BEAUTIFUL HEART.
Incidentally he told me why he was so excited on seeing me. " I was just thinking of you on the plane from Istanbul... Thought of contacting you through one of my Indian friends.. and God wanted me to meet you sooner than that and so i am walking down.. and i see you... oh my god!!"
And on my part i must narrate why this meeting means so much to me. My friend, a fellow musician very recently visited us and had said that i should play with Pedro. "He is just awesome. And the energy that you both radiate on the stage is so similar, i really wish you both could jam together some day".
I remarked" Isn't that kind of expecting too much buddy? I dunno, but i would love to". And then i left for LA.
God connected us in the most unusual places. Our flights were to leave to different destinations in less than half hour and from neighbouring gates. Destiny.. it was!!
Oh but that man, PEDRO... WHAT A GREAT SOUL, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL HEART..
God bless you my dear friend...
And the lady who took our picture in my camera remarked in spanish " You both look like brothers!!" And yes we are!! Pravin and Pedro, the bamboo brothers...

check out the video on my website www.pravingodkhindi.in

My Thoughts

Long time since i have been able to pen anything.. my apologies..

Her are some of my thoughts. Some of which will feature as part of my talk in the 2nd world flutes festival in Argentina later this month.

Yeah!! i am leaving on 18th Sept to Mendoza, Argentina for the flutes festival www.worldflutesfestival.org . Hope to have a great time there with some lec-dems and fusion concerts with musicians from other countries. I am representing BANSURI and India for this prestigious event.

More of the festival in my next. In the meanwhile ponder over my thoughts..

ROLE OF BANSURI IN INDIAN MUSIC

In Indian mythology, Lord Krishna – the god with the flute, was supposed to have mesmerized humans and animals alike with his melodious music from the bamboo flute. Although we don’t have any records of how his music might have been, experts opine that his flute music had magic embedded in it. Therefore, flute in Indian music holds a special place.

Indian Classical Music consists of 2 forms of music, North Indian or the Hindustani Music and South Indian or Carnatic music. Bansuri or the bamboo flute is a major instrument in both these forms of music. The size of the flute is different though. Whereas Hindustani musicians use a longer bamboo flute of around 2 – 2 ½ feet in length, Carnatic musicians use flutes of very small lengths of around a feet or so. Thus Carnatic flutes are shrill and of high pitch whereas Hindustani flutes are of lower pitch. Another way of looking at it would be, Hindustani bansuri represents a male voice and the Carnatic flute represents a female voice. The Hindustani flautist generally performs as a soloist or in a duet with other instrumentalists. But the Carnatic flute is also popular used as an accompanying instrument. The Carnatic system of music is taught and followed by all the instrumentalists, vocalists as well as the percussionists. This helps them perform in huge ensembles. But in Hindustani music each instrumentalist is playing impromptu to a great extent and hence it is difficult to play collective/group music.

A typical Hindustani bansuri has 6 playing holes and a blowing hole. But due to some constant research work done by maestros like Pandit Pannalal Ghosh, Pandit Raghunath Seth and my father Pandit Venkatesh Godkhindi, today, flautists in India are playing flutes which have 8 or 9 playing holes. All these maestros wanted to ‘sing through the flute’. In other words, they all wanted to reproduce whatever the vocalist sings thus leading to these wonderful innovations. With these extra holes we are able to reproduce some difficult glides and movements which were hitherto impossible. Also, the addition of some extra notes enhances the beauty of a particular Raga or a scale. Some flautists have also tried to imbibe the ‘key-flute’ techniques on the bamboo flute, attaching bamboo keys to the flutes to facilitate closing of holes, those beyond reach.

The basic difference in the construction of flutes for Indian music as compared to other forms of music world over is that we play the entire chromatic scale (12 notes) using the half-hole closing methods for semitone differences. Unlike the recorder fingering, we produce notes by opening the holes either fully or partially. The reason behind this practice of playing all the notes through half-hole technique probably was generated because of the rather complicated scales that Indian music deals with. Although each flute is designed for a specific pitch we can transpose and produce different scales in different pitches with the same flute. This transposing technique is commonly used by flautists who perform for commercial recordings, orchestras or fusion ensembles. This gives them the flexibility to produce desired glides or fast movements avoiding the half-hole closing method.

As far as standardization/calibration of pitch is concerned, it is preferred by most flautists to have the flutes custom made according to his/her blowing, position of the lips and the contour of the chin. It is generally believed that irrespective of who manufactures the flute, it is the performer who has to redesign or make minor pitching adjustments to the flute according to his requirements. So, we see that most of the flautists are flute makers themselves. At least some basic knowledge of corrective measures as far as pitch and tone are concerned have to be learnt by the flautist.

The modern day flautist of India is so innovative as far as technique is concerned that they are managing to play jazz, rock etc on the bamboo flute. This development is of vital importance for future flautists because some techniques like the power blow, fast paced staccato, beat-boxing etc, have begun to give a new dimension to the traditional classical music apart from the collaborative fusion genre.

All in all its a wonderful time for flute lovers - performers or listeners, classical or folk, Indian or western, it indeed is a golden period for open minds n souls

God Bless,
pravin gods
www.pravingodkhindi.in
www.worldflutesfestival.org

Hats off- to the musicians of yesteryears

hi guys!!

long time , i haven't written anything. Was busy travelling for my concerts and by the time i would decide to sit and write, i would have to travel for the next destination in my concert tour. Travelling within India is a wonderful experience in itself, i dunno how many of you actually agree with this.. Nowadays, yes it is indeed an experience to travel if, if and only if you decide to enjoy the experience, come what may!! Just studying different faces among the crowd gives you so much of impetus and energy in life. The innumerable emotions on different faces teach you the different facets of human beings and their feelings towards themselves and one another.

The new India has given us- the frequent travellers, options galore like sleeper coach buses, A/C buses, hi-speed trains, and of course a huge selection of flights. Almost all of our major cities are well-connected by one of these means-of-transports. And travelling now has become much more comfortable than ever before.

You might be wondering the connection between the title of this blog and the travelling options in India. Yeah! there is a wonderful connection. Have you ever imagined how Pandit Ravishankarji would have travelled 40 years back with his sitar say from Mumbai to Trichur? Or for that matter, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi with his entire entourage of accompanists travelling from Kolkatta to Patiala for an all-night music mehfil, the following day? Take your time... think... imagine... The roads, the bus-stations, the railway stations, the toilets, the hotels, the distances, lack of proper connectivity between cities, telegram/trunk-call being the only fastest means of communication, delays in all services... OH MY GOD..!! Just these thoughts suffice for an entire blog- no words are needed to be written.

Yet, my dear friends i will continue to write a few more lines because i have to salute these maestros- for their music, for their knowledge, for their innovations, for their hard-work and most of all, for their perseverance and patience - with the entire system of yesteryear.

These musicians not only travelled these great distances in all possible ways of transport (including a bullock-cart or a tonga ride), but also managed to perform and give their best in each and every concert, time and again. I remember one such occasion when Pandit Bhimsen Joshi arrived in Dharwar, my hometown, in his car, that morning of the concert, performed in the evening for more than 3 1/2 hours non-stop, and then decided to drive back to Poona in his own car-all alone. The way he travelled, none of us might be able to do it. OK ok ok, i hear voices of dissent, well, you might be able to travel like he did if you take it as a challenge or something, I agree, BUT will you be able to perform like him? After all that travelling? Driving yourself? Eating at road-side Dhabas etc etc.

Panditji loved driving. With mostly mud roads all-over India, i wonder how he managed to drive and then perform like the way he did? His car would consist of 2 huge tanpuras, a harmonium, a set tablas and the wonderful accompanists (minimum of 4) who played these instruments. Nowadays, you see a vocalist just carrying an electronic tanpura over his shoulder and a small bag of kurtas and often complaining about his stiff neck or the A/C in the train or plane. And he wouldn't accept the concert without a plane ticket to the nearest city.

Uff!! Incredible were those maestros! Not only for their music but for their will to travel from this corner to that corner with a mission! To propagate their form of art, to propagate peace and inner beauty of music, And to propagate the idea of preserving our culture, our rich heritage, And to make sure it is passed onto the next generation safely! The very way they received it from their Gurus.

I bow my head in gratitude, HATS OFF SIRJI!!!

Now, do we hear anymore complaints about travelling in India, especially musicians? I have stopped complaining and started enjoying my journeys, as i said at the very outset of this article, because i am indeed indebted to these maestros. A small way of continuing the hard work that they undertook as their cultural responsibility.

So, Join me !! HATS OFF MAESTROS, HATS OFF!!

musically yours

pravin godkhindi

www.pravingodkhindi.in

Fun teaching Bansuri online !

Hey guys!
long time could'nt write anything. As you all know i have started teaching flute, both the traditional way as well online (thru skype). So, was busy choosing the new students.
When i say teaching the tradittional way i meant the real gurukul system or the guru-shishya parampara way. I learnt it that way from my father Pandit Venkatesh Godkhindi. Believe me, during my childhood it was music for almost 25hours in a day!! . I remember all those beautiful moments. I have seen my father teach with great affection and concern to each one of his students. Whats sad is that some of them chose to go to another guru just because my father was'nt influential enough. I pity those souls. They would have gained more if they had stayed. I envy those other students who got to spend hours together with my father after he retired and dedicated his entire life to teaching. He still does. During my childhood he was working for AIR and so was caught between the administrative work and performances but still he gave me an environment of music throughout the day.. 25 hrs!
And the way he practisied flute during his early years is a great story in itself. Those days there were no electroni tanpuras, no cd's , no tape-recorders nothing. So all the budding musicians had to store whatever they could in their brains, after listening to a performance or a radio concert, go home and practice and perfect it. After his marriage, my father used to practice flute and my mom used to play the single reed harmonium which would generate a drone like effect. And this would go on for hours together. Imagine my mom's plight, newly married to a government employee with great hopes and this man keeps her busy in the evenings thru the night as an accompanist! But it was her generous support, that my father blossomed into a great musician that he is. Not only sitting for hours together with him she also applied various oils on his neck after these practice sessions because he would have strained them. ha ha
He literaaly pracitised flute by trial and error method. As a flautist myself i can very well imagine how difficult it is to undo or unlearn something that you've been pracitising for years. He had to unlearn many things that he had practised with lot of pain later because he would realise soon that "it might not be the way to produce this particular meend or gamak".. So again start from the scratch and try new techniques. And this process of learning and unlearning and learning again continued for a long time and quite frequently too. His way of teaching himself was simple, sing it first then try to produce the same effect in the flute. He says often "sing through the flute". That is what is our style-the Godkhindi style. The Gayaki Style of playing the Bansuri.
So with this background of learning on my back i decided to impart these rare techniques to deserving students all over the world. The different techniques people use to produce various nuances has made me richer in knowledge, i must admit. I have been trying to reach out to as many students as possible and will still keep trying. Not for the money but simply because i want most of the music loving fraternity to realise that there is so much of talent around us. lets encourage them, give oportunities to as many musicians as possible and most importantly, to impart our traditional art to the next generation.
Although i firmly believe that the traditional way of learning Indian art is the BEST way but learning it online is not harmful either. In the traditional way, apart from the music you also imbibe some energy waves from the guru, which transform you into a different league altogether.
Nevertheless, hope to see many upcoming musicians prosper under my tutelage. If nothing else i will have the satisfaction of having traind a few musicians to appreciate music in a much much better way. They sure will have a better understanding of the finer aspects of sur-laya-taal-raag and bhaava. God Willing!!
pravin godkhindi
www.pravingodkhindi.in

Week begins with a recording and ends with....

hi guys!

phew!! I was recording at Arvind Studios for 2 days, after a long time a live-jugalbandi recording. It was a recording with Dr Mysore Manjunath, a brilliant violinist. The drums, tabla and the mridangam added the spice to our new fusion concept. Watch out for this album.

And coming to the online flute classes, my basement is getting ready for the occasion. There is an air of excitement in the industry about this relatively new concept of teaching thru the Internet. More than anybody else i'm excited, because i'll be making new friends n new disciples. Who knows, i might discover a great talent from some remote part of the world. It will be indeed satisfying if i'm able to do so.

But, on the other hand... I really hope and pray that technically it really works the way i want it to...'cos with so many constraints like power cuts, slow Internet speeds, concert commitments, and so on, i can only hope to accomplish what i am set to - "to popularize our tradition of bansuri/flute playing". You might be wondering who is OUR? Its me and my father, Pandit Venkatesh Godkhindi - my GURU.

Some other day i'll write about him maybe in my next blog. And till then wish me luck for my adventure with the online classes.

And ofcourse, wish me luck for my concert at the Ambedkar Bhavan on 13th, I am opening for none other than the Ustad himself, Ustad Zakir Hussain. Got to prepare!

bye

pravin godkhindi

www.pravingodkhindi.in