Internationally acclaimed Chitravina (Gotuvadyam) player N. Ravikiran has come up with a new concept of adding dance to highlight the lyrical beauty (sahitya bhava) in instrumental concerts. For this, he has collaborated with renowned Hyderabad-based dancer Smitha Madhav.
Says Ravikiran, “Working with brilliant artistes across the world is indeed a privilege. To me, dancers who are also well-versed in music are very special and I have been lucky to work with several in that category, including Pandit Birju Maharaj, Vyjayantimala Bali, C.V. Chandrashekhar and Adyar Lakshmanan as they relate more keenly to the music. Smitha is one of those who scores very well in this respect in her generation. In September 2016, she had choreographed and presented an operatic production of mine, The Almighty Trinity in Hyderabad. We were also invited to stage this in several cities in the US.”
About the new innovation ‘Nava Chitravina’, Ravikiran recalls having designed and first presented it at a concert in New York in 2000. “It has been more than 16 years but I still perform on the traditional Chitravina frequently. Most of my solo concerts in Chennai and other cities that I have been to are played on that instrument. It has been my closest companion since I was about six years old.”
For Ravikiran, inspiration can come from very different spheres. “They are too many to name here; be it musicians, composers, scholars or even top scientists and sportspersons like Donald Bradman. I owe much of my musical journey to my gurus Acharya Ratnakara Chitravina Narasimhan and Sangita Kalanidhi T. Brinda.”
“Although our great culture is much sought after the world over, our macro level education systems have been designed to not instill pride and passion for it. This is in stark contrast with countries like the US, the UK, and China where classical or jazz music and other arts are compulsory at least till the VIII grade in schools. This enables even the gen-next in those countries to be well aware of their classical heritage. Parents in every family must themselves take pride in our culture and instill that among children from very early on,” adds Ravikiran.
— (The author is a musician, the creator of ‘Jaywant Guitar’ and a freelance photographer)
