Her string theory

Maestro’s daughter. Sitar prodigy. Curly-haired. These stereotypes are often used to describe her, but there’s much more to Anoushka Shankar than just being the talented daughter of Ravi Shankar

There’s something familiar about her — perhaps it’s because she has been giving interviews since she was 13. So what could I ask Anoushka Shankar that isn’t already out there on Wikipedia, or in every other magazine?

A lot, as it turns out. When asked for three words that describe her, she thought about it, and said: “Mercurial, intelligent, caring”. Three words to describe her weapon of choice, the sitar, were: “Sweet, deep, loving”.

Anoushka’s music is all of these things and a lot more. Tranquil, exciting, invigorating and refreshingly original — her most recent albums Rise and Breathing Under Water bear testimony to her talent. Through her compositions, she has created an environment where spirituality, beauty, the universe, matter and energy come together.

All of 27, the prodigal sitar-player has already released five albums, received two Grammy nominations, authored a book (Bapi: The Love of my Life) and been nominated for Best Supporting Actress (Dance Like a Man).

She has played on the world’s most prestigious stages since she was 10. She’s the first Indian woman to have performed at the Grammy Awards. She has led an ensemble of musicians at a tribute concert for The Beatles’ George Harrison. Her face has been on magazines covers. And this is just the beginning.

Currently based in San Diego (she moved there when she was 11) Anoushka leads the life that any city-bred youngster — in this day and age — would. Just a few weeks ago, she celebrated Halloween in London where she went to watch the electronica act, Shpongle.

In case you’re wondering, she went dressed in 30s burlesque. Of course, there is a very small price to pay for being a world-renowned sitar player: She has to be more careful with her hands than most of us. “I’m cautious when it comes to physical activities. I have to make sure not to soak my fingers in water for too long, as that softens calluses.”

Despite being trained in classical music, Anoushka’s oeuvre is quite different from the traditional ragas that are synonymous with her father, sitar-maestro, Pandit Ravi Shankar.

Breathing Under Water, her latest album released along with maven producer-programmer-musician, Karsh Kale, features stunning compositions that are beyond genre classifications. Breathing Under Water is not a ‘black-and-white’ Indian classical music album or a world music album. It is a hip pastiche that blends classical, electronica, folk and magic.

It is pleasantly unique and truly unexpected. That is, if you were ‘expecting’ something from her for being Ravi Shankar’s daughter.

Yes, she is the only person in the world to have been exclusively trained by the great Ravi Shankar, but it is unfair for critics to constantly compare her with him. Anoushka has her own identity and the skills to prove it.

Does she feel burdened by her father’s legacy? “Yeah, only if that’s how I were to see it. But I don’t see it as a pressure because I wouldn’t be doing it if that’s what it was,” she says. But she is very aware about the difference that “growing up around a musician who happens to be your father, who happens to be a particular person”, has made. The very same “particular person”, who is synonymous with the word ‘sitar’, was All India Radio’s music director and taught George Harrison.

Yet Anoushka’s playing comes from the heart. “It was made very clear to me from the start that I should play only if it’s fun for me. And that’s why I do it, because I love it. I do it, not because I need to prove anything, or carry something on. I can’t be an extension of my father.”

Anoushka prefers to think of this ‘pressure’ as a blessing. She is a confident musician. “I have been performing with him [Ravi Shankar] since I was 13. Even as musicians, we share a very intense relationship. I can be in awe, but not intimidated,” she says.

Anoushka spent her growing years shuttling between three different parts of the world — Delhi, London and San Diego. “For me, home depends on where I am. Even today, I was speaking to a friend in Italy, and I was saying that I am home right now [US] and next week I’m going home [India].”

The artist, who comes home to Delhi for a few months, every winter, is about to embark upon a duet concert tour along with fusion rock legends, Jethro Tull. Anoushka and Tull will perform in Kolkata, Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai and Hyderabad, and then fly on to Dubai.

The concert will feature solo sets by each of them and then a joint performance featuring each of their own compositions, and new music written specifically for the tour.

“India is home in different ways because of the heritage and music. It’s a route that can’t be compared,” she says. “The upcoming Tull tour is the next big thing on the horizon. We’re playing separately and then together. I will be showcasing Indian ragas with my musicians, and with Tull, we will be reinterpreting some of their songs with the sitar included.”

Jethro Tull will also be playing some tunes from Breathing Under Water.
Anoushka, who went through many years of electronica, feels that she has now come back to an acoustic space. “I am listening to a lot of music involving live instruments, stuff like the Latin guitarist, duo Rodrigo y Gabriela. I am also rediscovering my father’s old records.”

Along with a packed touring schedule, she is also working on some ideas for a new album. “I’m pushing forward from where I left on the last two records. I think I am growing more on a compositional level, drawing on sitar strength.”

Anoushka, a huge fan of singer-songstress Bjork, would love to work with her some day. Her favourite Beatles’ song, if she had to choose one, is Something, which she says, “is just one of the most beautiful love songs I’ve ever heard”.

She is charmingly spiritual. “We’re all universally fundamentally alone and that makes us all not alone at all. That’s as universal as we can get,” she says. Beneath the pretty-faced and talented musician is a ‘normal’ human being. “My father has such a commitment to playing and he can’t go a day without practice — I wish I had that. But it’s nice to take a break from the instrument and come back to it fresh.”

Ask her to describe her music room, and pat comes the reply: “Not ready. I moved here a couple of years ago and have been on tour over 75 per cent of the time. The process of moving in was very slow. The music room is still very sparse. I have a carpet that people come and play on. That’s it. There’s a great view of a valley that’s beautiful.”
p_riddhi@dnaindia.net

100 Piper’s Pure Music concert with Jethro Tull and Anoushka Shankar is on November 29 at Shanmukananda Hall. Tickets are available at Music World, Rhythm House, Hero Music House and online at www.bookmyshow.com. Tickets are priced at Rs4,500, Rs2,900, Rs1,900 and Rs1,100.