Sreekhol to the fore

Gopal Burman, an ace Sreekhol player from West Bengal, was in Hyderabad to perform as part of the ‘One World Fusion’ series. Burman and other artistes from the concert get together for a candid conversation.

Says Gopal Burman, “Sreekhol is a significant part of the Sree Chaitanya Mahaprabhu movement and is an instrument that signifies the faith of a person. Sreekhol is nothing but an ‘open sound’ bringing in spiritual vibrations of Lord Krishna.” Ronu Majumdar, flautist, says, “I was drawn to this instrument and it was no surprise that it’s also a part of my album A traveler’s tale.” Tarun Bhattacharya, santoor player, adds, “Khol was always an instrument associated with the spiritual and folk music of Bengal. But I was always attracted to the sounds of the ‘roots’ of music.” Says Prodyut Mukherjee, “When I play Tabla, the sounds of the ‘Khol’ somewhere appear to merge and I find oneness in the rhythms.”

— The writer is a musician, creator of ‘Jaywant Guitar’ and a photographer