Chit-chat with Pandit Ravi Shankar...
I talked with Pandit Ravi Shankar today... It wasn't just "meeting" him, but "talking" with him. Uptill now, I have seen some great Indian classical musicians really closely.. like Zakir, Rashid, Bhimsenji, Jasaraj, Hariprasad and Shivkumar.. I have seen them face to face, I have touched their feet.. but I never got a chance to talk with them. But this time, for Ravi Shankar, I made it.. I talked with him.. Hurraaay !!!
Ravi Shankar himself and Anushka were playing in SD after a long time. SD is their home town, thus I have seen Ravi Shankar multiple times at different concerts. Since last one year, he had some shoulder injury so wasn't able to perform, but now he has started his musical journey again.
So me and my music group buddy went for the concert. When concert was over I thought abt meeting Panditji... My friend initially thought that "I am crazy" :), but when I told him how I have seen Hariprasad, Bhimsen, Shivkumar in pune.. face to face.. he also got enthu...
There were almost 100 people waiting outside greenroom... We weren't on the guest list either.. Only family and friends were allowed to visit.. I was the "back-stage crasher".. as usual.. so obviously we were at the tail end..
..but at last.. the moment appeared.. When we entered the greenroom, I saw Anushka talking with her american friends, but my eyes were looking for Panditji .. and there he was.. sitting on a sofa, talking with a american couple... Panditji looked at me.. and I guess he got little bit confused... probably he was thinking "who the hell is this young fat guy".. so he invited me and asked my name... I touched his feet and told abt myself.. immediately he identified me as "Marathi".. asked me about my liking towards music.. details abt my tabla.. Gharana... how long I have been playing.. What I am doing in San diego.. and at the end.. he said "surely meet me again"... hshhhhh.. while leaving the green room, I said hello to Anushka also !!
When my friend was introducing himself.. I was observing Panditji... nobody can believe that he is 87 years old.. His age is hard to determine from his cheerful face. He still has his legendary aura with him.. he was cheerful, bubbly and in an excited mood.. distinctive similarity with Pt Bhimsen ji.. I guess age or physical strength is never the issue with these legends. I am sure that its damn difficult for a 87 year old person to move his fingers on the sitar as smoothly as his young blood... but his brain and heart surely puts him in trance, inspires his fingers to move and his complex compositions comes to reality on sitar.. When you listen to him, you definitely get the feeling of a great composer, artist.. a complete musician... a legend..
Whenever these legends perform on stage, I always think that "what must be going in his mind.. what is he thinking abt while playing?" "Would he be worried abt his fingers not moving as fast as before".. or "he just enjoys the music and goes in trance".. you never know...
Any way, felt good after meeting & talking with him... a life time moment to cherish.. Infact my friend went crazy after meeting Ravi Shankar.. it was first time in his life he was visiting a great musician so closely and it turned out to be a chance to "talk" with him !!
In the concert, Anushka played "Puriya Dhanashri".. it was "so-so"... somewhat noisy :).. her "Kirwani" was good though... Infact a fellow flute artist "Ravi Kulur" was strikingly noticeable.. and finally Panditji rendered a marvelous raga "Jan-Samohini"..
..I hope I will get a chance to listen to him again...
