The forgotten heros of Indian Music Industry

The music of India is said to be one of the oldest unbroken musical traditions in the world. It is said that the origins of this system go back to the Vedas. Many different legends have grown up concerning the origins and development of Indian classical music. Such legends go a long way in showing the importance that music has in defining Indian culture.

This month, the nation felt proud when the Gems of India shot up in limelight. While A R Rahman won the BAFTA award for Best Music in Slumdog Millionaire, the Indian presence was also seen at Grammys with tabla maestro Zakir Hussain winning in the Contemporary World Music Album category for his collaborative album "Global Drum Project".

Sure, India has a lot to brag when it comes to Music, maestros like Pt. Ravishankar, Pt. Shivkumar Sharma, Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, Ustad Allarakha, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan etc have brought a lot of recognition for the Indian Classical Music. The Carnatic Music has also achieved a respectable status worldwide, thanks to the hardwork and efforts by Maestros like M.S Subbalakshmi, Dr. L Subramanium, Dr. Balamurali Krishnan, Umayalpuram Sivaraman etc.

While all this is being said, how can one forget the Hindi Film Industry. We feel proud to have great singers like Lata Mangeshkar, Asha bhosle, Manna Dey, Kavita Krishnamoorthy. The legends like Md. Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Madan Mohan, Shankar Jaikishan, SD Burman, RD Burman, Salil Choudhary have graced the industry with their work.

I am sure everyone might have heard the lovely song "Jaane Jaan, Dhoondhta Phir Raha" from the yesteryear's movie Jawani Deewani. The music was very popular and created the trend towards using modern western instruments.

This was the first time that the Bass Guitar was used as a front line music instrument rather than just a background filler. And the way the Bass Guitar was played, it proudly stands un-imitable even today.

All thanks to a great musician called "Tony Vaz". He was the hot favorite of RD Burman (who saw him play in a hotel once and then never composed any songs without him), Bappi Lahiri and a host of other music directors.

Unfortunately, towards the end of his life, he had to stay in a tiny room that had a few dirty clothes and a stink to call its own. He was severely diabetic and acutely impaired by paralysis.

He often lost control of his bowels on the bed and would lie like that till someone offered help. But that help was rare because how often would people help an artiste who was no longer in the list of famous people? The fame and name which he had, did not bring him any help till his last breath apart from few sympathetic students and colleagues.

This is the irony of any and every musician who doesn't get credits for his hard work. The production companies spend millions and billions on promos, what would they lose if they start a humble initiative to promote the artists behind the scene? As always, the Music Director gets the entire credit and very few of them like A R Rahman believe in sharing the credits with the team.

Many great musicians of yesteryear's like Ramesh Iyer, Marutirao Keer, Rajnikant Patil, Dilip Naik, Franco Vaz have never received the due recognition.

L-R seated:Ranjan Sircar (radio personality), Manohari Singh (Saxophone), Ramesh Iyer (Guitar), Ranjeet Gazmer (Maadal).

L-R standing: Homi Mullan (Maadal & Tabla), Amrutrao Katkar (Tabla), Kersi Lord (Drums), Bhanu Gupta (Mouth Organ)

Even today, many people love the soothing track "Bombay Theme" from the movie "Bombay", how many of us actually know that an artist called Naveen has played the Flute? He is a staple in all A R Rahman Recordings and Concerts. How many have heard about Darshan Doshi who has played Drums for movies like Rock On, Metro, Goal, Bhool Bhulaiya and many more.

Flautist Naveen in Concert with A R Rahman

Next time when you listen to a track, think about the efforts put by the Musicians who never get credits for their work.

Music has seven notes, but these great musicians have umpteen talent and dedication to make these 7 notes sound beautiful.

Its been a year since Tony ji left us, may his soul rest in peace. The magical fingers will be always remembered when ever Bass Guitar is heard.

Homage to Abbaji - A tribute to Ustad Allarakha

In religion and spirituality, a Pilgrimage is defined as a journey or search of great moral significance. Sometimes, it is a journey to a sacred place or shrine of importance to a person's beliefs and faith. Members of many major religions participate in pilgrimages. A person who makes such a journey is called a pilgrim.

Every year, 3rd February is marked as a pilgrimage trip on my scheduler. A Pilgrimage to pay tribute to a Maestro who's fingers spread the magic of Indian Classical Music worldwide. An uncommon pulsation which went stilled on 3rd February 2000. His wrists, palms and fingers produced a percussion of magical quality which maintained the tenor and tempo of India's uniquely assimilative musical culture.




Ustad Alla Rakha & Tabla are synonyms. This great man introduced Tabla to the Western world and is considered one of the greatest tabla players of the 20th century. He popularized the art of tabla, playing across the globe, elevating the status and respect of his instrument by leaps and bounds.

He achieved world renowned status as Pandit Ravi Shankar's chief accompanist during his apex in the 1960s, delighting audiences in the West with his percussive wizardry. He was not only an uncanny accompanist with flawless timing and sensitivity but also soloist & master of improvisation.

The partnership was particularly successful, and his legendary and spellbinding performances with Shankar at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 and the Woodstock Festival in 1969 served to introduce classical Indian music to general Western audiences.

He once said in an interview that when he played outside India, his aim was to teach the Western world about the beauty of Indian music. I had read somewhere that ,when he was requested to say a few words on his 80th birthday celebrations, he played the tabla instead. "This is the language I know," he told the audience. Such was his dedication towards music.

Since his demise, an annual event to pay tributes to Ustad Alla Rakha is organised by his son, Ustad Zakir Hussain, "Homage to Abbaji" is conducted on 3rd February at Shanmukhananda Auditorium Sion.

Many renowned national and international artistes perform at this ceremony to pay their tributes. The pillars of Indian music like Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, Pandit Kishen Maharaj, Ghatam maestro Vikku Vinayakram, Mridangam Maestros Umayalpuram Sivaraman & Sri Karaikudi Mani Iyer have graced this event with their presence.

International Artistes like John Mc Laughlin, Terry Bozzio, Giovanni Hidalgo, Pete Lockett, Bela Fleck, Edger Mayer, Antonio Sanchez & Steve Smith were also a part of the earlier concerts.

This year's barsi was no exception. The audience got a rare chance to witness magic of some awe-inspiring musicians like Charles Lloyd, Eric Harland, Zakir Hussain and many others play together.

Image Courtesy - radioandmusic.com

The morning session titled 'Taal pranam' was opened by flautist Rakesh Chaurasia. This was followed by performances by Ranjit Barot & Sridhar Parthasarathy along with students of Ustad Allarakha Institute of Music. The morning session was concluded by performance by sitar exponent Niladri Kumar with Ustad Zakir Hussain on Tabla.

The afternoon session called 'Taal Tapasya' featured solo performances by Vikku Vinayakram along with his son Uma Mahesh, a solo performance by tabla maestro Puran Maharaj & was concluded by Taufiq Qureshi on Djembe accompanying Ajay Joglekar on Harmonium.

The evening session 'Celebrate Abbaji' was started by the Dhaak players from West Bengal, the band 'Sangam' featured Jazz great Charles Lloyd, Eric Harland, Zakir Hussain. Later Louis Banks, Shankar Mahadevan, Niladri Kumar, Ranjit Barot & Loy Mendonca joined in for a Splendid Jam Session leaving the audience spellbound.

Ustad Allarakha will always be with us, whenever Tabla is played anywhere in the world, his magical fingers will always be remembered.