As an eight-year-old, Ravindra Katoti visited harmonium artiste Rambhau Bijapure with his parents. When he heard Bijapure’s mesmerizing music, Katoti decided he had found his calling.
“My brother used to learn the flute from him (Bijapure). It all began with a casual conversation. While we were at his house in Belagavi, he asked me what I would like to learn. And, just like that, I said, ‘Harmonium,’ ” recalls Katoti.
Now, 38 years later, Katoti contributes to popularising harmonium solo concerts through the Harmonium Habba in Bengaluru. Its ninth edition, held on June 28, saw a Hindustani solo (on the harmonium) by Sudhir Yardi, while R Paramasivan played Carnatic compositions and old songs from the Gubbi Veeranna drama company. The event ended with Colours of Harmonium, an exploration of Hindustani classical, light classical and devotional genres by Ravindra Katoti.
The annual fest is organised by the Bijapure Harmonium Foundation, set up by Katoti, as are a few more concerts and lecture demonstrations round the year. BHF has also brought out audio recordings of the harmonium, a DVD titled Learn to Play Harmonium, aimed at beginners, and a documentary on the maestro it is named after.
The foundation’s efforts to project the harmonium as an independent instrument have paid off. “Earlier, people would be astonished if you mentioned a harmonium concert, even though the violin, sarangi and many other instruments have featured as the main ones in concerts for ages. Now, at least, people are aware,’’ says Katoti.
Before he shifted base from Belagavi to Bengaluru, he found that Bengalureans were largely unacquainted with the instrument. “When I was called, performances where the harmonium took centre-stage were few and far between,” he says.
But he has witnessed people gradually develop a taste for it. “It has been 13 years since I started the foundation, and slowly I find them supporting my cause,” shares Katoti. Solo performances even have dedicated listeners these days, he says, adding, “This is an instrument that originated in France and is thriving in India,” he says.
Harmonium is a global instrument, Katoti declares. It lends itself to many genres: Hindustani, Carnatic, devotional, light-classical and even Western.
An A-grade All India Radio and Doordarshan artiste, Katoti has played in venues across India and the globe. “In places like Pune, Mumbai and Kolkata, people come from a rich cultural background and it’s always a pleasure to perform in these cities,” he says.
Concerts abroad—Europe, US and the Middle East—are another question altogether. People patronise a variety of arts, and the audiences there are far more disciplined. “Unlike in India, they listen to the concert rapt in attention and complete silence,” he says. But this makes it harder for artistes like him to gauge their response.
Scholarships and awards have punctuated Katoti’s musical journey. He was awarded a three-year scholarship by the Karnataka Sangeet NrityaAcademy in 1986. In 1993, following his brilliant performance at South Central Zone Cultural Centre’s Yuva Sangeetotsav held at Ujjain, the then Maharashtra governor P C Alexander honoured him for his top-notch performance. The following year, he was conferred the title of Sur Ratna by Bhatkande Lalitkala Academy, Raipur. He also has a doctorate in commerce from Karnataka University, Dharwar.
On the question of how he wants to further his guru’s legacy—who passed on five years ago—he says he wants to “continue doing what he is doing: teaching and performing”.
This apart, he wants to mark Bijapure’s birth centenary year, 2017, with harmonium concerts across the country. He remembers his guru as, “someone who taught me the gist of music, with harmonium as the medium”.
Though known for his gaayaki style of rendition, where the musician uses the instrument to achieve a human voice-like quality with the music, he has also shared the stage with the greats of Hindustani music, including Gangubai Hangal, Bhimsen Joshi and Pandit Jasraj.
Ask him how different playing independently and accompaniment are, and he responds with, “When you accompany someone else you follow the other artiste’s thoughts; when you perform solo, you play out your own thoughts.”
And the art of accompaniment cannot be taught, he believes. “You can teach them how to play, but accompaniment is their prerogative. It has to be habituated.”
Katoti has also composed his own music, for bhav geets and devotional songs, besides two raga maalikas. This is an entirely different ball game, for “you have to keep in mind the lyrics and the musicians who will sing or play it.”
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Magazine / by Chetana Divya Vasudev / August 08th, 2015