Classical music trainers play on as ‘riyaz’ goes online
VARANASI During the ongoing lockdown, Varanasi musicians – classical music exponents and gurus – are imparting online training to the desirous, sitting in foreign lands, thousands of miles away.
Musicians have turned their riyaz (practise) room into classrooms, installed audio-visual equipment, laptops, and are spending hours daily with their pupils online, pointing out nuances of music to them.
Sitar virtuoso Pt Deobrat Mishra converted his riyaz room on March 27. Since then, he imparts online training to his students outside the country. Mishra spends two-three hours daily online at his house in a narrow lane of Bhadaini, Varanasi. There are 27 foreigners under his tutelage at present, learning to play the sitar through online classes.
“I used to go on two-threemonth tours of the USA, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Italy and Germany every year till the beginning of March. I used to impart training to my pupils and those interested in learning sitar. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, I have had to stop my tours. When my pupils insisted on imparting online training, I started the classes through Skype and Zoom. On an average, we spend two-three hours together. In fact, online training has become the new normal,” Mishra said.
Rajarshi Kasaudhan, a flautist, is giving online classes to pupils living in various cities and some from abroad. “We enjoy the online training sessions. I do riyaz and they follow me online,” Kasaudhan said.
Sarod maestro Pt Vikas Maharaj said that his three pupils in the USA, two in New Zealand, five in Germany and several from other Indian cities are learning how to play the sarod. “Usually, I impart online training for about an hour daily. Every year, my pupils used to come to Varanasi in February to learn the sarod. They used to stay here for two months and go back thereafter. This year they
:
couldn’t come due to the outbreak of coronavirus,” Maharaj said.
He said that the online platform is good for imparting training, though it cannot match the traditional classroom as far as music training and learning is concerned. In the traditional classroom, the guru and his shishyas sit together and do riyaz together for several hours. It is not possible online.
India’s spiritual and cultural capital, Varanasi, is known for its lanes and majestic ghats, as also for music doyens like Shehnai maestro Bharat Ratna Ustad Bismillah Khan, vocalist Padma Vibhushan Girija Devi and tabla maestro Padma awardee Pt Kishan Maharaj. All three are not in this world.
However, there are other artists in Varanasi keeping its music tradition alive today, including Jal Tarang maestro Padma Sri Pt Rajeshwar Acharya, Bhajan maestros and Padma awardees Pt Rajan-Sajan Mishra and vocalist Padma Vibhushan Pt Chhannu Lal Mishra.