Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma pens his musical journey

As he strides into the room Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma has already commanded everybodys attention with his imposing presence And the fact that he has been learning music since the age of five he turned 76 this year adds to his auraI am not like some Classical musicians who keep there ears open to their style of music and ignore the others I love Mariah Careys voice and the power of rhythm that Michael Jacksons music has is all that you need Panditji to say to show how his open mind has made it possible to experiment with an instrument and make it a part of Indian Classical musicPicSatyajit DesaiDuring his initial years Panditji faced hurdles especially from traditional Indian Classical music practitioners who refused to accept a Folk instrument from Kashmir as a Classical instrument This however changed through the years and Panditji went on to win awards such as Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and Padma Vibhushan This journey of the artist has been chronicled in his latest book Shiv Kumar Sharma The Man amp His Music that has been edited by Ina PuriRecording of the song Barse from the film Silsila with Yash Chopra Amitabh Bachchan and Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia He has composed music and worked as an instrumentalist for various films PICS COURTESYNIYOGI BOOKSThe book includes several important facets of Panditjis life with photographs for company which he excitedly takes us through by flipping through the pages ldquoThis is a photograph of my first performance outside Kashmir on February 19 1955 in Mumbais Cowasji Jehangir Hall You can see an artist sketching my performance and the artiste on tabla is Pandit Shankar Ghosh percussionist and tabla player Bikram Ghoshs fatherrdquo he informs When he arrived in Mumbai he stayed at a hotel named after his home state Kashmir opposite Metro cinema in order to save money on accommodation But this was just the beginning Later he performed in several countries across the world with artistes such as George Harrison He loves travelling for concerts the most adding with a smile ldquoAnd artistes get paid for itrdquoAt his first public concert outside Kashmir in Mumbai in 1955One of his most memorable tours was performing at 40 concerts across USA and Canada in 1974 with musicians including Harrison Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia Pandit Ravi Shankar Billy Preston and Tom Scott ldquoWe would all travel together rehearse together and the best part was everyone loved Indian food So before we reached the venue our Indian chef would already be there with his truck to cook for us Travelling is a way of learning wherever you go whoever you meet you learn from it everydayrdquo he remindsMoving with the timesOne of Panditjis latest long recordings was of different ragas done specially for iTunes downloads He uses an iPhone but admits that he isnt very good with technology However hes clear that the younger audience for Indian Classical music has definitely increased ldquoWhile reality shows are giving youngsters hope to get popular overnight and the question of who will take over the mantle of Indian Classical greats remains I feel you cant create maestros by dozens It takes timerdquo he explainsldquoEarlier the number of people who would attend concerts and be aware of the technicality of music was less Today even though people dont understand Classical music the audience has increased It isnt a bad thing I love food and trying different cuisines but I dont know how to cook The same thing applies to music It is the appreciation and the love of the audience that matters not just knowing the jargonrdquoThe book will be released on September 27 at the UGAM Music Festival at Nehru Centre which will also see a performanceby Panditji