Age is only a quantity till you meet S Hariharan, and all of the sudden it appears all of your excuses for not being a greater model of your self have abandoned you. At 92, he’s maybe India’s oldest and nonetheless performing flautists and will probably be launching his debut album this Diwali.
Titled Gems of Carnatic Music, the album options compositions by Muthuswami Dikshitar, Thyagaraja, Shyama Shastri, Swathi Thirunal, Papanasam Sivan and others, offered in Hariharan’s distinctive fashion.
Talking to Hariharan is a captivating cross between historical past, tradition and music. Born in 1933, he has lived by way of World War II and blackouts, witnessed the Independence wrestle, and took part with musicians, artistes and freethinkers within the nation constructing that adopted.
How many individuals as we speak can say they’ve met each Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi? Or accompanied a few of main dancers of all time reminiscent of Meenakshi Sheshadri, Padma Subramaniam, Vani Ganapati, Radha and Raja Reddy and others?
“I have been blessed to hear greats such as G N Balasubramaniam, Chowdiah and Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar accompanied by mridangist Palakkad Mani Iyer before microphones became common. They sang in halls and temples where the acoustics were brilliant and iron pots were strategically placed so the sound could reverberate,” says Hariharan.
Humble beginnings
The sprightly artiste was born inAmbalapuzhaand grew up listening to devotional hymns from the close by Sree Krishna SwamyTemple. By age 11, he had learnt to play the flute and by the point he was 13, Hariharan was a daily on the night darshan. As his curiosity grew, he would make the arduousjourney by bus to study from his elder sister Ganabhooshanam Annapurni Ammalwho taught on the Swati Tirunal College of Music in Thiruvananthapuram.
Flautist S Hariharan
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He was besotted by flute maestro TR Mahalingam and would observe his schedule each time potential, sitting behind him on the stage, offering the important backdrop with the tanpura and taala. “Over 70% of my learning was in this way, and that included learning and unlearning a lot I had picked up over the years,” says Hariharan.
He provides that he modified his fingering method whereas he was in his late 30s and transitioned from shorter flutes generally utilized in South India to the longer ones employed within the Hindustani fashion of music. Hariharan was launched to this instrument by the late Devaprasad Bannerjee, a Hindustani flautist from Kolkata.
“The answer to everything is practice,” he says, when speaking in regards to the means of unlearning.
“This is no small feat as you have to get used to spacing your fingers wider on the instrument. While most musicians slept with corks between their fingers to achieve this, my father would just keep playing till he got it right,” says Srinath, who often accompanies Hariharan on the violin.
One of the first-ever flute jugalbandis in Carnatic and Hindustani music was between Hariharan and Devaprasad.
Making music
The flute and music shouldn’t be all there may be to Hariharan. An engineer by occupation, he additionally labored at Kolkata’s Kalamandalam instructing Carnatic music together with the sitar, flute, violin and vocals. He additionally lectured on Carnatic music at Rabindra Bharati University, following his retirement. During the 4 many years he spent within the metropolis, he saved performing, incomes the moniker ‘Flute Hariharan’ as he was the one Carnatic flautist in Kolkata for the longest time.
Flautist S Hariharan
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He additionally directed a number of dance dramas reminiscent of Kalidas’ poems, Jayadeva’s Ashtapathi, Dasavatar of Lord Vishnu, and Ashtalaskhmi which had been aired on Doordarshan in the midst of his profession.
Hariharan acquired two fellowships from the Government of India. The first was a comparative research of flute fingering strategies in Carnatic and Hindustani music, and the second, was on the 72 melakarta ragas.
Undying ardour
Hariharan carries his flute wherever he goes. “In the past 40 years, there has hardly been a day when I have not heard my father practise his music,” says Srinath. “Even the day after a surgical procedure, my father played the flute from his hospital bed, and the nurses opened the door to his room so the melody could soothe nearby patients as well.”
While he was in his 70s, Hariharan beat most cancers and he credit his restoration to the ability of staying constructive, wholesome residing, meditation and journalling.
In the three many years since, Hariharan has saved busy and his newest undertaking is that this debut album. Titled Gems of Carnatic Music, the album is testomony to Hariharan’s superb zest for all times and an timeless ardour for his music.
At 92, Hariharan continues to be an ardent yoga practitioner, performing among the harder asanas such because the Matsyasana, Kurmasana, Sarvangasana and Naulieach day. “I began practising yoga at the age of nine. I was a sickly child and would follow my elder brother SM Iyer as he practised yoga,” he says, including that he discovered it helped his breath management while taking part in the flute too.
Gems
While it may be argued that launching an album is fairly formidable at this age, Hariharan says there’s a purpose behind the transfer. “Gems is a collection of my favourite songs presented to my family, friends and well-wishers to enjoy without the constraint of time. The selection might be eclectic, but if you are satisfied within, audiences will enjoy your work. While Bollywood is for leisure and enjoyment, the pieces in Gems bring internal satisfaction.”
Flautist S Hariharan
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Special Arrangement
Srinath provides, “Concerts are tailored to audience specifications — traditional, devotional, upbeat and the like. The album has his favourites from a wide range of genres most of which are not played together in a concert.”
According to Srinath, the recording course of astonished everybody current. “Unlike a live performance, recording in a studio can be unforgiving as every sound is captured from a sharp intake of breath to a muttered aside. Besides, once recorded, that error remains captured for posterity.”
And but, Hariharan recorded all 14 items in 5 hours at a stretch with no single retake. “I took a few breaks between songs to have some water and fruit. All those breathing techniques from my yoga routine stood me in good stead. Since I was there, I thought I’d might as well complete my part for the album,” laughs Hariharan.
Others who’re a part of the album embrace mridangam maestro Kulur Jayachandra Rao.
Tech and collab
Unlike many others his age, and even these youthful, Hariharan doesn’t shirk from know-how. His dad and mom are “quite YouTube-savvy,” says Srinath. Hariharan and his spouse Kamala, who’s a Carnatic vocalist, scour the social media platform for gifted children they will mentor.
For occasion, the household uploaded their rendition of the Lalitha Shastranamam on YouTube. The devotional hymn comprising 183 verses with 75 ragas and 5 talas is a posh affair because the raga adjustments the each second verse. Hariharan and Kamala had been joined by Srinath and his spouse Shobha, additionally a Carnatic vocalist.
Hariharan brushes off any qualms about AI edging out musicians and their ilk. “I welcome any tool that helps preserve or share our music. A machine can calculate tala cycles perfectly, but Carnatic music is an affair of the heart. As long as we cultivate artistes who pour their lives into each note, our tradition will thrive alongside technology.”
“AI is the brain while music is the heart. Use it to make your work better, but do not rely on it.”
Gems is slated to be out by Diwali and put up that, Hariharan will probably be giving his concepts for an Indian Blues album a whirl. “We met with an artist while we were performing at an event for World Music Day. My father was intrigued by the guitar work and felt the notes shared a similarity. He wanted to explore this further and is now working on this Carnatic-Blues project,” says Srinath.
Admitting that the common age at a Carnatic live performance is 50-plus, Hariharan believes collaborations attain a wider viewers. “Do not compromise on the structure, lyrics or raga, rather collaborate on the medium or genre. Keep the roots intact but present it in different ways that more people will relate to. For instance, try Carnatic music on an unconventional instrument, but do not compromise on its soul.”
Updates on the album release could be discovered on @srinath.hariharan
