This music festival in the city will revive the age-old guru-shishya parampara
Veteran musicians are all set to come together to perform with their disciples and revisit the old tradition
It’s one thing to be a father and another to be your child’s guru. But when the two roles combine in one, then the child receives the best of both the worlds. Such was the case when Ajay Prasanna who started learning to play the flute at the age of three, by observing his father, Pandit Bholanath Prasanna.
To pay tribute to his father, Ajay founded an annual music festival in his name. “A year after my father passed away, we began an annual music festival in his memory. Since 1996, this festival has taken place in many cities of India including Benaras, Agra, Jaipur and Allahabad (Prayagraj), and has seen performances by stalwarts such as Shubha Mudgal (vocal), Vijay Ghate (tabla). Last year we organised this in Delhi, but this year onwards, we have named it after my father, and will henceforth be in his name only,” says Ajay.
The evening will have performances by gurus and shishyas. Ajay Prasanna will perform with his disciples and children, whereas Padma Bhushan Vishwa Mohan Bhatt (mohan veena) will perform with his son and disciple Salil Bhatt (satvik veena). Accompanying these artists will be Pt Ram Kumar Mishra (tabla) and Shubh Maharaj (tabla).
Remembering his childhood, when he used to see Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia learn from his father, Ajay says, “When my father used to sit down to teach his students, then he was just a guru. It was a different ambience then. He was happy teaching one thing even 10 times, but when the student was supposed to play the 11th time, he better play it right…And till date when Chaurasiaji comes to our house, he ensures that he picks his own utensils after a meal; because for him, it’s still his guru’s house. This gurushishya parampara is what we look at reviving through the festival.”
Grammy winner Pt Vishwamohan Bhatt, who will perform at this festival — with his son Salil Bhatt — for the first time, says, “I’ve been close to sons of Guru Bholanathji... One of them Ratan Prasanna has been my student. What we all must not forget is that it was Bholanathji jinhone ek aisa shishya tayar kara (Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia) who popularised flute across the world. I have myself played mohan veena along with flute, and though the tonal qualities of the two instruments are different, they compliment each other beautifully.”