Niladri Kumar, son of sitar player Kartick Kumar performed at the Hyderabad Arts Festival and shared his views on the music scene in India. Says Niladri, “I’m concerned about the future of young musicians who are growing in number but do not have a proper source of income. There was a time when All India Radio provided employment to musicians. Instruments like the sarangi and the esraj survived because of full-time jobs and paid recordings at All India Radio. But these instruments are also vanishing now. For me, the colour of the zitar (a modern version if the sitar) and its sounds might be contemporary, but the roots are very much traditional and the audience always appreciates it.”
Talking about the issue, drummer Gino Banks, son of famous jazz pianist Louiz Banks, added, “There are very few world-class performers in India who can inspire the younger generation to play instruments like the horn, cello, viola, saxophone, trombone and the trumpet. Once “software programming” entered the scene, live music recordings vanished and many good musicians lost an important source of livelihood. In the West, musicians work with processors and technology while continuing their live recordings and gigs even today. There is a great need for musicians in India to gear up for the changing times.”
Gino Banks
The concert started with Niladri playing the zitar that produced sounds of the double bass, the lead guitar and the bass guitar. After finishing his first piece, he asked the audience about their preferences; on popular demand, his next performance was raga Malhar (music of the rainy season) with the predominance of raga Mia-Ki-Malhar on the sitar.
Prince Mulla
Niladri was joined by Satyajit Talwalkar on the tabla and Gino on the drums, which added three-dimensional sounds of soft thunder and cloud bursts. Gino tested the rhythm quotient of the audience, who tried following his beats with their claps.
At the end, all the musicians merged their tracks into a musical presentation comprising flavours of jazz as well as Indian classical music. Prince Mulla joined in with the keyboard, adding a delicate rhythm to the final show, which received a standing ovation. Mulla, who has studied music at the KM Music Conservatory in Chennai, said, “I have seen instruments like the harp, marimba, xylophone, viola and key flute being taught at the Conservatory. We need to have more music institutions. There are many good musicians in India who are busy in their own musical world of aesthetics and quality. While they remain underground, others with less knowledge are bringing forth their work with certain gimmicks. It’s important to locate good musicians and provide them with opportunities.”
