My Music Teachers and Fusion Music

While working in projects at the IISc, Bangalore, I had the pleasure to revive learning Carnatic music over again from where I left at Hyderabad.
My music teacher was a frail Iyer Brahmin coming from quite a financially poor background. His only income was from the music classes he would conduct at the students' houses.

I was staying at the Ladies' Hostel and since men were not allowed in, he used to tutor me in the common music room (where practice sessions used to be held for all performers) where we had uninterrupted classes for some hours on weekends.

Since I had learnt both Hindustani as well as Carnatic music earlier, I thought why not brush up on my Hindustani music too if I could find myself a good teacher.
My hunt for a suitable teacher led me to many teachers and due to mismatch of either time or place all attempts fizzled out while I continued to learn Carnatic from this humble and dedicated soul.

After an year, it so happened that one of my colleagues recommended me to a Hindustani music teacher living very near our campus, so off I went in search of him. He lived in his own house and seemed quite affluent too having a regular job somewhere.
As is the practice with every teacher, I was made to sing a raga alaap, khayal and dhrut just to test my level of grasp. The teacher seemed happy and said he could teach me from the following month itself and we concluded the other aspects like fees, timing, periodicity of classes and just as I was about to take leave he mentioned that he was surprised about my interest in Hindustani music than in Carnatic as all Tamilians naturally gravitate to that form of music from quite a young age.
I had to tell him that I had learnt upto the kirtanai level at Hyderabad and was still continuing to learn from a music teacher here on such and such days of the week. He asked me to sing a kirthanai which I promptly did. He commented that I did not mix both styles together and could sing each one as it should. But what he said after this, put me in a tight spot.

The pandit was upset that I was doing injustice to both forms and started bad-mouthing people who wanted to sing both styles of music like Bhimsen Joshi and bringing bad name to both styles.
He said had he known that I was learning Carnatic he would not have entertained me at all.
Since I had a good 'feel' for Hindustani he would take me in but on the very strict condition that I should immediately stop learning Carnatic music and chuck out the other teacher once I come to him for learning!
He left me to make my choice by the following month.

I was very upset and in a confused state that day. I was thinking how I should reveal all this to my Carnatic teacher who was doing a good job, who was poor and depended partly on my tuition fees to run his family each month.

My love for Hindustani was tugging at my heart at the same time, that too after finding one quite so nearby after a long search.

I truthfully and cautiously told my Carnatic music teacher about it while asking for his opinion on what I should do about the whole thing.

What he said still remains fresh in my mind though a good 30 years have passed by since.
He said he could see my devotion to learn Hindustani music.
He could understand my predicament about the difficult choice I had to make between the two.
Then he was graciously willing to stop coming over if that would please the new Hindustani music master. I was choking.
Here was a poor man struggling to make both ends meet with music tuitions as his only source of earnings.
An old man his age could hardly go hunting for students to teach. He was willing to visit far off places to teach to make an earning.
Yet he was such a gracious man, ready to sacrifice his own opportunity and give way.

It was not easy either for me to decide which one to give up.
After that month got over, while paying my tuition fees, I asked him to continue teaching me as long as I was in Bangalore and two hoots to people with such attitude about any music other than theirs.

Coming to think of it all, I was not a professional stage performer since I was working fulltime on a job.
I have performed on the stage whenever there was an occassion to showcase what I knew.
All I needed was to keep practising both styles, if possible.

This incident left a big mark on my thinking. I had the greatest respect for my dignified and kind Carnatic music teacher because he was a better human being.

These are modern days where we find many musicians from north, south, east, west ready to come together to make music by mixing different forms with ease and absolutely no hang ups whatsoever. These are days of fusion (and more confusion) music.

More on music in my next blog.

Mahalakshmi.