Renowned Indian flautist Rakesh Chaurasia is as mesmerised with the flute and its melody today as he was as five-year-old listening to his uncle Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia play the flute. It is also what inspires him to come and play on stage ever since then over the last four decades. “It was more like my hobby turned into my profession,” he says, continuing, “I love travelling, and trying different cuisines, and this is the best way to do it.”
Amid a busy touring scheduling, Chaurasia will be performing with table virtuoso Zakir Hussain and celebrated Indian sitarist Niladri Kumar in a triple concerto that has been specially commissioned by the Symphony Orchestra of India for the upcoming season. It will start on September 10, and will culminate with a performance by the trio.
Interestingly, this isn`t the first time that Chaurasia and Hussain will be playing with each other. Having played with Hussain for a long time with different combinations and musicians, the bansuri player says playing with the tabla maestro is always a delight because of his adaptability as a percussionist. He shares, “Zakir Hussain has been playing with different kinds of genres and not sticking to anything in particular. When it is needed, he does a full classical piece, but when it is not needed, he knows what to do, how to react with a drummer.”
Popularity of the flute
Having picked up the flute when he was just five years old, the bansuri player has dabbled in different kinds of music over the last four decades. Through this journey, he has witnessed more people take to the instrument than before. He explains, “There has definitely been a growth in the popularity of the instrument. Bansuri is the instrument of Krishna. Aapne notice kiya hoga agar raste main koi bhi bansuri baja raha hai toh do second log khade hoke sunte hai. The instrument has blessings.”
Chaurasia says it is not only on the streets but also in the temples around India where people immediately move towards the music because the melody made by the flute is very sweet. “It is such an instrument that it isn’t excess baggage. There is no hassle of carrying and packing it. Aap usko apne haversack main bhi daal sakte ho and practice it anywhere and you will not disturb anybody. Just imagine a person practicing a trumpet, malum pada agal bagal ki flat ka resale value kam hogaya,” he jokes, while highlighting how the flute is a very convenient instrument and is one of the reasons why it has become more popular.
In fact, Chaurasia says he gets at least 10-12 calls every day from people who want to learn the bansuri, and these include those who are young and old. He adds, “Hariji’s (Hariprasad Chaurasia) Gurukul gets at least 50 calls every day. I can’t believe that young boys and girls want to leave their cities and their studies and come to learn it.” The fact that the flute is a universal instrument makes it even more appealing to different kinds of people. “In India, kahi hum usko venuvu bolte hai aur hum use bansuri bhi bolte hai. There are so many other names like silver flute, recorder, shakuhachi around the world. So, when we perform outside, they know about the instrument, kahi bamboo hai, kahi metal hai, kahi silver hai but the most common name is flute.”
Taking Indian classical music to the world
The music of the bansuri being an essential part of Indian classical music, asked him about the popularity of the latter over other kinds of music in the country and he said people should give every kind of music a try at least once in their life. One shouldn`t make a call without listening to the different tunes. It is only after they listen that people can make a decision about whether they like it or not, and it is no different for Indian classical music. Such is its popularity around India and the world, that the flute player says Shanmukhananda Hall in Sion was sold out to a performance by Chaurasia and Hussain one month before the performance in July. Such a response is also what he says is encouraging. One may think that its popularity may be limited to India but he says it is also similar around the world, especially in Europe.
So, it is no surprise when he tells us that European cities are some of his favourite to perform in. He shares, “Europe is more into classical acts like music, just like Maharashtra, where even today they perform Gujarati and Marathi plays. In Europe, they have a book about who is performing when, and then they mark the date, and say, ‘this day, I am not free’ – they have that kind of culture. It is also there in America. My favourite cities to perform in are Rome, Italy, Paris and London too.”
When one talks to Chaurasia it is impossible to not ask him about the influence his uncle has had in inspiring him. After all, he grew up listening to him. Ask him what are some of the things he has learned from his uncle — the celebrated flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia — right from his formative years, and he immediately says, “I picked his instrument.” He continues, “I have also learned a lot of other things on and off the stage, like how to be calm – because if you are angry and your mood is off, it is going to show up in your performance. If you meet him, he is always cool. Apne aap ko shaant kaise rakhte hai is something I have learned from him.” An aspect that is visible in his demeanour when this writer talks to him as he pours out his love for all things Indian classical including the flute, which is one of the many percussion instruments India boasts of today.
With some great percussionists in the country, India deserves to celebrate more of its unique percussion sounds. So, does he feel the need to have more percussion festivals? “There definitely needs to be more percussion festivals in India because in festivals, all kinds of people come and attend and they can make a choice, ki ‘Arre, I have never heard this instrument, but it sounds so nice’. In a concert hall, you have to book a ticket and all of that with a lot of effort. In a garden concert, you never know when your ear follows somebody, and you start listening and liking it,” he concludes.
