The Monsoon music festival–Barkha Ritu saw renowned musicians from across the state and country mesmerising the music lovers with their flawless rendition and classic performance.
Acclaimed Bhansuri maestro Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia and local talent, Hindustani classical musician,Pandit Venkatesh Kumar enthralled music connoisseurs' through their scintillating performance. The evening consisted of an interesting mix of traditional monsoon ragas and instrumental fusion mixes that satisfied musicians of all age groups.
When City Express interacted with Venkatesh Kumar, he spoke at length about his style, his tutelage under Dr Puttaraj Gawai, some of his memorable concerts and also about his future plans.
A student of both Gwalior and Kirana Gharanas, he performed in the presence of legendary Hariprasad Chaurasia. “It was a great responsibility and I had to switch on the best in me to perform well.”
The artiste started learning music at a very young age under the tutelage of his father, a folk music artiste. "My father sang folk songs but did not learn classical music or had that background. He was very interested in Hindustani Classical music."
For over 11 years, he learnt the basics of music from Dr Pandit Puttaraja Gawai at Veereswara Punyashrama and mastered both Kirana and Gwalior styles, the two well-known Gharanas of Hindustani Classical music.
Speaking about various existing styles in classical music, he said, “In Gwalior Gharana, the emphasis is on melody and rhythm, the repertoire of bandishes and the rendering of a variety of taans. Musicians prefer to sing in well-known ragas as audience can connect more with it. While in Kirana Gharana, the emphasis is on use of sargams, the development of raga and also the clarity in pronouncing the text. It is not a herculean task to switch over from one to another.”
When asked about his tutelage under the legendary Puttaraja Gawai, he said, “He laid a good foundation for my career. While teaching, he also maintained the purity of the raga and bandishes were taught as per the traditions.”
According to him, it is important for musicians to immerse themselves totally in the raga and text that captures audiences’ attention. Venkatesh Kumar, who is currently guiding students at Karnatak Sangeet Mahavidyalaya, Dharwad, has also performed across the country. He has also performed in London and USA. Concerts in Pune Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai Kalakshetra and Trivandrum still remains fresh in his mind.
Speaking about these concerts, he said, “Performing in these Sabhas itself was prestigious. When I performed at Pune Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav in 1993, music legend, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi appreciated my performance and encouraged me to continue practicing music.” He added, "In 2006, when I performed in Delhi, Sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar appreciated my performance which still energises me to practice more and perform well."
Though many projects were offered by the film industry, he could not take up those projects due to two main reasons. He said, “As I am working for Karnatak Sangeet Mahavidyalaya in Dharwad, the schedule does not permit me to take up any projects. Secondly, no classical music based projects were offered.”
On his future projects, he said in the coming months, he will be performing in Delhi, Varanasi, Lucknow and also in other countries.
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