Classical musicians of Bangalore strike the right note

Bangalore has been one of the prominent bases of the Indian culture – music and dance.

Classical music and dance recitals are held throughout the year, particularly during Ramanavami, Ganesha Chaturthi and Dasara festivals. These events give the locals as well as for those from across the country to showcase their talents.

What lends Bangalore its cultural ambience is its community of classicial musicians. They are not only rooted in the city, but have also honed their skills here.

“I started learning Hindustani classical music when I was six years’ old,” says Dr Shyamala G Bhave of  Ubhaya Gaana Vidhushi. She is an expert in Hindustani and Carnatic styles. Born in 1941, 69-year-old Bhave has been teaching both styles of music – instrumental and vocal – since 1954 at the Saraswati Sangeet Vidyalaya, established by her parents in Seshadripuram in 1931.

“My father, Govind Vithal Bhave and my mother, Lakshmi, set up the Saraswati Sangeet Vidyalaya, which is the first Hindustani music institute in the state. While my father used to play six to seven musical instruments, my mother was an eminent vocalist,” says she.

Bhave imbibed the best in Hindustani music from her parents and eventually learnt Carnatic and later  western classical music for over 12 years.
“I have about 140 students today. With a staff of six, we teach the students both styles of music and follow the Gurukul way of teaching. Students come and live in the Vidyalaya to learn music,” she says.

Bhave says the classical music scene in the city has changed drastically. “Contrary to popular belief, classical music in the city – both Hindustani and Carnatic – is developing well. In fact, even their numbers have grown by a whopping 25% in the past one decade.” However, she adds, even though more and more youngsters are taking classical music seriously, they are always in a tearing hurry to become famous, thanks to the popularity enjoyed by reality TV shows based on music. But they need to understand that one can’t buy music.

To keep pace of youngsters, even Bhave has had to modify her ways of teaching. “I use microphones which help in detecting the most minor of mistakes and in fact are time savers.”

“A number of Indians settled abroad learn classical music through e-learning websites. Moreover, online fora like www.rasikas.org have also aided in developing classical music in the country through its online discussions, reviews of concerts all the over the world, etc,” says 31-year-old Vikram Sampath, who is an author and vocalist in Carnatic classical music and a team leader in one of the major software companies in the city.

Dr Nagaraj Rao Havaldar, who has been practising Hindustani classical music for over 35 years in the city, says, “One of my students, a nine-year-old girl, travelled all the way from California to Bangalore only to learn Indian music.”

Havaldar’s sons – 25-year-old Omkarnath, a Hindustani vocalist, and 22-year-old Kedarnath, a Hindustani tabla player – too have been practising classical music for 20 and 16 years, respectively.