Music is therapeutic and studies say that it can heal not only the mind but the body as well. After extensive research on chakras, flautist Pt. Rupak Kulkarni, has come out with an album that is a musical view on chakras to get relaxation. He spoke to BT about the body and soul connection with chakras and music.

What are chakras?

Eastern teachings describe chakras as centres of energy, which are located at various points along the spine. To have them in balance is to have physical and spiritual well being. Chakras are gateways of the energy and life in the physical body. Each chakra is associated with glands and organs of the body. It is charged and energised by the vibrations received by from yoga, Reiki, music, colour, acupressure etc. My album Chakraview is a musical journey is to experience the energy of chakras mainly based on the combination of seven chakras, colour, element, raga and chanting.

How do you think chakras are related to music?

Each chakra has a planet, colour and element. Likewise each musical note (swar) has planet, colour and element. I have taken these common features of chakra and raga. E.g. swar Madhyam’s (Ma) planet is Mars, colour is red and element is Earth. So, I chose a raga which has more emphasis on Swar Madhyam (Ma). Thus, I have played raga Shuddha Lalit for Mooladhar Chakra which planet is Mars, colour red and element Earth.

Music has healing properties?

Music, if played with skills and purity, has many positive effects, which has already been proved by legends like Miya Tansen, Baiju Bawra. In modern times, many people have experienced relaxation by listening to music. Research says that there is a healing effect of some ragas on some particular diseases like hypertension, diabetes, insomnia, migrane etc. I have done albums on music therapy for diabetes and migrane for Times Music.

Do you think music can help someone achieve spiritual relaxation?
Definitely. Swami
Vivekanand had said,
“Music is the shortest way to reach God”. In all religions, people chant or sing in praise of their particular God. Swami Vivekanand
also said that music is the
highest art and, to those who understand, is the highest
worship.

Tell us about your spiritual journey.
Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, is my musical and spiritual guru. Since 1981, I have been learning the flute from him and each time I meet him, or talk to him on phone, my body and mind gets charged and I am completely a different person. Every Janmashtami, at his Gurukul, we play flute for 24-hours non-stop. That is a special day for me because whenever Guruji plays, I go into atrance.
debarati.sen@timesgroup.com 

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Gangubai Hangal sang till she reached 95. Her voice was as steady and powerful as ever. Sushilarani Patel sings at the age of 94 and can reel off a taan or two.

Abdul Rashid Khan, the elder singer from Calcutta claims to be 105 years old. There is little doubt that he is extremely old and otherwise infirm. Yet when he sings, he sings with full force.

SBI Mutual Fund had organized a concert at the Chavan Centre. Abdul Rashid Khan sang the raga Puria Kalyan at leisure. He developed the raga theme with aplomb. The best part was his forays into the upper octave. He could throw his voice with full strength and he could touch the note Pa in the upper octave with apparent ease. He was assisted on the vocals by Shubhmoy Chatterjee who seems to have a lot of talent. Abdul Rashid Khan also sang other pieces like the raga Jaijaivanti. Nasir Khan on the sarangi and Urooj Khan on the tabla lent adequate support.

Rupak Kulkarni, senior pupil of Hariprasad Chaurasia is now a maestro himself. He has achieved tremendous control over the bansuri. His technique too is faultless. Over the years, his tone has acquired roundedness. He played an unfamiliar raga called Padmavati. It is a raga that was taught to him by
Abdul Rashid Khan. It sounds very similar to Madhuvanti. Rupak played alap, jod, jhala and gats set to Rupak and teen taal. He played jhala at supersonic speed and with an accomplished tabla player like Yogesh Samsi to accompany. The overall impact was intoxicating.

Hridayesh Arts which has instituted an award carrying a cheque of Rs.1 lakh and citation to a senior and dedicated musician goes this year to Shrikrishna Haldankar, senior exponent of the Agra gharana. The award will be given away by the santoor maestro Shivkumar Sharma who will perform with Zakir Hussain on the tabla at the two-day festival at the Sathaye College Ground. The festival will also feature Niladri Kumar (sitar), Rakesh Chaurasia (bansuri), Rajan/Sajan Mishra (vocal jugalbandi), Kaushiki Chakraborty (vocal) Ulhas Kashalkar (vocal) and Rashid Khan who will conclude the festival with his vocal recital.

With the arrival of the monsoons, classical artistes will celebrate the season with Malhar concerts — the season kicks off tomorrow

AMARENDRA DHANESHWAR

Concerts celebrating the monsoons have begun and the month ahead promises a downpour of such, organised by various institutions. The first of the lot is Varsha Utsav, a programme organised by the Khayal Trust which will be held at Karnataka Sangha over the next couple of days.
The concert will feature many young promising artistes. Rupak Kulkarni is one of them. Applauded as one of the best graduates of Hariprasad Chaurasia’s school, the flautist will play a jugalbandi at the concert with the sursingar player Joydeep Ghosh. He says, “Hundreds of music lovers brave heavy rains to hear live performances of monsoon-specific ragas. They are prepared to bear the inconvenience of commuting to concert halls because listening to a performance of a monsoon raga in the right ambiance is an uplifting experience. Even in an overcrowded metropolis like Mumbai, one can feel connected to nature through the medium of monsoon music.” Joydeep Ghosh is perhaps the only major exponent of the sursingar which is a very rare instrument.

Monsoon related theme concerts and festivals were virtually non-existent until Kumar Gandharva stormed into the scene in 1966 with his now famous G e e t v a r sha concert. It was a theme-based presentation in which Kumar Gandhrava sang classical compositions, folk songs of the Malwa region and also some relevant devotional numbers. Geetvarsha was hailed by the critics and appreciated by the audiences as a great experiment. Now, it has become customary to have these concerts every year.
Another performer, Manjusha Patil, might have a frail body but she has a dynamic voice. She says, “My experience is that the audience responds to monsoon ragas with more enthusiasm than non-seasonal ragas.” Shaunak Abhisheki, son and pupil of the late eminent singer Jitendra Abhisheki is expected to sing some rare traditional compositions which reflect the spirit of the season.
Yogesh Hunswadkar is a young artiste who has been given an opportunity to showcase his talent. The singer belongs to the Mewati
gharana of Pt Jasraj fame and will open the festival with a rare type of Malhar raga which is a speciality of his gharana.
Catch the concert today and tomorrow at K a r n a t a k a S a n g h a , Matunga, 6.30 pm. Call 99202 23793

Rupak Kulkarni