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Australian artiste Jonathan Barlow will open a recital with a conversation on the stringed instrument
A photograph from 1980 when Radhika Babu Maitra (left) made Barlow play with him at a small mehfil in Calcutta
Take us back to your journey to India five decades ago; what drew you to Hindustani classical music at the time?
Sound drew me to classical Hindustani music, especially the sound of [sarod virtuoso] Ali Akbar Khan, which I first heard in 1963 in Sydney. It went deeper into the body and mind than anything else. I was not especially musical and certainly not talented, but I had to go deeper and try for myself. Having visited as a tourist in 1963, I returned to India in 1968 and took some lessons in Maihar [in Madhya Pradesh, known as the birthplace of Maihar Gharana].
Jonathan Barlow
You embarked on the path of learning the sarod by crafting your own instrument. How did it help you hone your musicality?
I made my first instrument simply by gluing a long neck onto the belly of an old mandolin and attaching a steel plate and skin. Pretty rough, but it enabled me to find fingerings, etc. Later in London in 1969, I made a proper instrument from a log of elm using primitive tools and it turned out quite well. Mimicking the sound of Ali Akbar Khansaheb was my laboratory. Later, I learnt quite systematically from Radhika Mohan Maitra for a long time but because of laziness on one hand and some kind of blind spot, or deaf spot, I was unable to practise in such a way that these two sources fused in a voice of my own. Radhika Babu introduced me to Bimala Prasad Chatterjee, who taught me some processes for voice, which I am still practising and trying to bring into my neglected sarod baaj [playing style].
The theme of your conversation in Mumbai is a fascinating one.
The sarod was designed for and evolved within the parameters of Hindustani music through the 19th century. It doesn't migrate easily to other [traditions of] music. Most of its potential has been revealed by the great master sarodiahs [sarod players]. However, contemporary performers are refining and expanding techniques and ideas and there are a number of very good players. Nowadays, some design and functional elements have been improved but the finesse of manufacturing of the old makers is not often matched. There is a rethinking going on that may have great results soon.
On October 27, 5 pm to 9.30 pm
At G5A Foundation for Contemporary Culture, Mahalaxmi.
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