Strings of hope

Santoor maestro Shiv Kumar Sharma says that Indian classical music is anything but boring. Himadree C speaks to the music maestro.

Santoor maestro Shiv Kumar Sharma says that Indian classical music is anything but boring. Himadree C speaks to the music maestro.

HT Image

Words cannot capture the magic that Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma creates through his music. Recently, a documentary on the santoor maestro, titled Antardhwani, has been made by Dr Jabbar Patel and the Films Division.

A documentary is made on your journey as a musician. What do you have to say?
Antardwani is about my musical voyage. The documentary highlights my years of struggle in making santoor a phenomenal classical instrument. People today don’t even know that the Sufi musicians of Kashmir used santoor exhaustively. In this documentary, we took shots of those musicians who played the instruments and also certain sections are dedicated to the learners.

You’ve composed for Hindi films. What’s your take on Bollywood music?
I don’t know how the term Bollywood is applicable. I prefer calling it Indian film music. It depends a lot on the director’s selection of subject matter, characters, the location and, above all, his taste for music. Directors like Bimalda (Bimal Roy), Guru Dutt, Vijay Anand, Mehboob Khan, Raj Kapoor and Yash Chopra had a different approach for songs altogether. The music in their movies had a classic appeal. Today, when I sit down to watch the recent videos, it seems as if the visuals and the sounds are some MTV clippings. Of course, what else can they be? The songs are just a reflection of the stuff the movie is all about.

Do you like remixes?
I somehow do not have any liking for the mixing of original songs. If you take an original melody and distort it with some strange sounds and call it your music, it’s called copying. Any self-respecting person, who loves music and respects it, will never do it. I prefer to be mediocre but original because originality will not be mediocre.

If you were to make a reality show, what would it be like?
I wish somebody would do a classical music-based reality show. There is so much of talent in India. People have a mental block about classical music as they feel it’s boring. Why can’t they see that Indian classical music is so interesting? The excitement and speed that Indian instruments create is phenomenal. Why don’t channels at least air 15 minutes of such concerts?

What do you think is missing in the music scene?
Our music has inspired many a great international artist, so why can’t our own countrymen take an initiative? Electronic giants and the business houses should take the step of producing shows that highlight India’s rich culture, but no one seems to be bothered.