The Wizards: Pandit Jasraj, Pandit Chaurasia and Sudha Chandran.
Pandit Jasraj
Deewana banana hai to diwana bana de... (make me insane if you please...) with the soulful strains of this gazal sung by Akhtaribai Faizabadi, now renowned as Begum Akhtar, began Pandit Jasraj's musical journey.
He was six then and spellbound. All he knew at the time was that he wanted to sing. Perhaps unknown to himself then, thus began his quest for the divine... in music...in the world around him...and within himself.
Today, Pandit Jasraj's relentless pursuit, his passionate strife and his single-minded devotion to music have made him what he is...
...The bright sun of Indian music...the glorious Sangeet Martand.
Legend has it that Tansen lit lamps with his rendition of the Raga Deepak and brought the rains cascading down from the heavens with the Megh Malhar. But many an evolved Indian musician even today will vouch for this mystical power of Indian music. Pandit Jasraj has confounded his audiences many a time with the extraordinary power of his music. There have been occasions when his music exerted an incredible effect on his environment. It is not an exaggeration when Panditji himself claims that very often he is caught unawares as he finds himself at a point of Samadhi whilst singing. It is only when he becomes conscious of the state that the divine link gets severed. And he can then, merely relate it as an extraordinary experience to others.
In honor of the glory of this unparalleled living legend, awards and titles have not only been created and bestowed upon him but have also been instituted in his name, thus these awards gaining more in prestige and value on account of being associated with his name. Music needs no introduction, neither does Pandit Jasraj.
Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia
Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia is known internationally as the greatest living master of Bansuri, the North Indian bamboo flute.
Chaurasia is among a few but growing classicists who have made a conscious effort to reach out and expand the audience for classical music. He is probably the most accessible Hindustani musician who has done a lot to popularize Bansuri and classical music among the masses.
Hariprasad Chaurasia was born in Allahabad in 1938 into a non musical family. His father was a wrestler. His mother died when he was very young. Hariprasad had to learn music almost in secret, scared of the father who wanted him to become a wrestler. First he started learning vocal music from Pandit Rajaram at the age of 15. Later, he switched to playing the flute under the tutelage of Pt. Bholanath of Varanasi. Much later, while working for All India Radio, he received guidance from the reclusive Smt. Annapurna Devi (daughter of Baba Allaudin Khan ).
Flute is the symbol of the spiritual call-The call of the divine love. With his virtuousic blowing technique, Hariprasad Chaurasia has turned the Bansuri (bamboo) flute into an instrument of beauty. Blending the musical traditions of India with imagination and innovation, Chaurasia has reached beyond classical music
Sudha Chandran
Sudha Chandran is a former classical dancer who turned into a remarkable actress after the major mishap in her life due to which she lost her leg in the year 1982. From a very tender age only she vowed to become a big shot in her life and she has successfully achieved her ambition. She hailed form a South Indian family as a result of which she was very much academically inclined. She did her B.A. from and followed it up with M.A. in Economics. While returning from there to the South she met with an accident in which she had to get her right leg amputated. She believes that was the toughest time of her life but soon she overcame her disability with the help of a prosthetic `Jaipur Foot` to become one the most highly acclaimed dancers of the Indian subcontinent. After she lost her leg due to an accident in the year 1982, her decision of coming back into the dancing arena after a brief gap of two years was met a thunderous applause. She received invitations from all over the world for performances and she was honored with various awards after she performed as far as the European countries, Canada and the Middle East. Soon after she catapulted to fame and recognition by venturing into the world of films and television.
Sudha Chandran holds a firm belief that each country has its own heroes who have never accepted defeat. She always thought of asking herself "What next?" rather than "Why me?". The individual who tops her list of inspirations is not any television actress but the one and only Helen Keller. She hold the belief strongly that the seeds of achievement lies in the human mind and as soon as this realization struck her, there was no looking back. In the year 1984 she acted in a Telegu film `Mayuri` in which she played herself. `Naach Mayuri` was a Hindi remake of the Telegu original and the entire cast of the film was changed except the character of Sudha Chandran. After giving into the golden opportunity of acting she felt that she was able to make it big in her life. She feels that television as never her agenda in the initial stages but after not being able to make a big mark in the film industry other than playing the stereotype roles she switched onto television. She met the owner of Cinevista Communications who casted him in a TV serial titled `Sahil` wherein she got noticed once again. Soon after she went on to anchor the Adhikaris` show `Shriman Shrimati` directed by Rajan Waghdhare. The director was so impressed by her work that he casted her in another serial called `Kabhi Idhar Kabhi Udhar`. Then she appeared in a stream of soaps after which she was offered roles in `Kkusum` and `Kutumb` but she was skeptical about signing on the dotted line as she heard about their unprofessional delays in shooting schedules. But when the exciting offer of `Kahiin Kissi Roz` came her way she could not restrain herself from it.
Life took a dramatic turn for Sudha Chandran after she played the character of Ramola Sikand in the soap. The special `bindis` and `ornaments` along with the character became a huge hit with the audience. She was also proud of the fact that it was first time in India that a negative character was followed so lovingly. She is a spontaneous actress and would like to be so always. Soon after she was also offered the negative portrayal of Gay atri Kaul which was also a hit with her sincere fan following. Till date she claims she was not very much choosy but after gaining a strong footage she believes to be a bit experimental and not accept whatever comes her way. She is very grateful to the Balaji Telefilms for helping her to regain her status as an actress. Recently she is only working on a play called `Kamaal Kartey Ho Aap Bhi`. She also busy in the production of a television serial called `Waqt Ka Dariya` with her husband Ravi Dang. Dancing has slightly taken a backstage for her now but still she performs whenever she gets chance. Her fans are proud of her and sincerely hope she will cross many more milestones in the coming years.
Vijay Ghate
Vijay Ghate, originally from Jabalpur, has been recognized by all musicians and dancers alike as the most brilliant and exciting among tabla players of the present generation. Vijay started learning his art at a very early age of three in Jabalpur.He then moved to Mumbai, and for over twelve years he put himself under the tutelage of Pandit Suresh Talwalkar. Even at the age of 16 he became well-known for his scintillating solo performances.He is one of the few rare tabla players who is adept and comfortable accompanying all the three streams of Vocal, Instrumental and Dance. Quickfire anticipation fulled with a very creative mind and imagination, clarity in playing, dextirity, accuracy are his forte.
He has been accompanying many well known artistes like Ustad Vilayat Khan, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, Pandit Birju Maharaj, Pandit Jasraj, Ustad Shahid Parvez, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhat and many others all over the world. He has been very well acknowledged for his forays into fusion in world of music with well known artistes from the western world like famous group Jethrotul and great maestros in easy Jazz like George Dukes, Aljereu, Ravi Coltarin, and also frequently working with Egberto Gismonti, Larry Coryell, George Brooks, etc.
He has also collaborated with well known Indian musicians in this field like Louis Banks, Shankar Mahadevan, Shivmani etc. He has performed at a number of prestigious venues including Parliament House, New Delhi & Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi Amit Kavthekar Young and talented Amit Kavthekar has rhythm running in his veins. At the early age of six, when most the children of his age were playing about, he was being groomed in the art of tabla playing by Maestro Ustad Allarakha. Since 1991, he was fortunate to be taught tabla intricacies by Ustad Zakir Hussain, a master maestro in tabla with an unbelievable number of fans all over the world and, of course, in India. Amit had his basic training in tabla from Shri Ashok Godbole, at the Allarakha Institute of Music. From 1997, Deepak Nerurkar, another brilliant tabla maestro, imparted his art to Amit, till Deepak passed away in October, 2003. Recently awarded the “Taal Mani” by Sur Singar Sansad. Amit is presently learning intricacies of Delhi Gharana from Guru Pandit Sudhir Mainkar. The result of all this day to day, year to year grooming by Tabla Maestros has transformed Amit into a fine player, bringing him the rewards of his “riyaz”.
He was awarded with National Scholarship in Tabla from the Government of India-H.R.D. Ministry in 2004. He was also recipient of CCRT, Govt of India Scholarship (for the student below 14 years). He has accompanied several top-grade artists for vocal and instrumental music and also given Tabla-Solo recitals. Graduated in Arts, Amit has recipient of several awards in his musical career. Amit, toured Japan and tour was sponsored by ICCR, Dept., of Culture, New Delhi, Govt. of India. Recently in June, 2008, he performed in Australia and rendered many concerts there in month long tour.
