BENGALURU: Chronicling the challenges and success stories of 12 musicians from the state, a documentary being aired on television currently aims to bring focus on the cultural heritage of Karnataka. The 12-episode series, telecast on every Saturday on DD Chandana, not only sensitises the viewer about the rich tradition in Hindustani music but also attempts to bring some of the hidden gems of classical music to the limelight.
Titled Swaradhare, the documentary has been conceptualised and anchored by Hindustani vocalist Dr Nagaraj Rao Havaldar. “We are featuring 12 musicians in the state. Many Kannadigas are unaware of these highly talented artistes. For example, there are only 25 artistes in the country who practise the intricate rudra veene music. One of them is Pt R V Hegde from Sirsi, North Karnataka. Likewise, we have featured 12 less known, but most precious jewels of Hindustani music,” said Havaldar.
The video has been directed by Megha Divakar. The 38-year-old film maker has earlier made a few documentaries, including one on empowerment of women for Charaka, a women’s multipurpose industrial co-operative society located in Heggodu, Shivamogga. “Each episode is a 30-minute video. We feature these musicians’ struggles, accomplishments, music styles and also life journey.
So, the video has a broad database. Compiling and presenting all the relevant information in 30 minutes was a big challenge, not just for me, but also our other technicians like B R Vishwanath, the cameraman, and M N Swamy, the editor,” she told CE. The documentary has been produced by Azim Premji University.
Each of the 12 episodes profiles the artiste’s musical virtuosity through a blend of narrative commentary, video and audio recordings and interviews with him or her, and/or their students and contemporaries. Pt Panchakshariswamy Mathigatti, Vidushi Lalit Rao, Pt R V Hegde and Pt Arjun Sanakod were featured on the shows telecast on the last four Saturdays.
The other artistes to be featured are Ustad Bale Khan, Pt Lingaraj Urs, Pt Basavaraj Rajguru, Pt R K Bijapure, Pt Indudar Nirody, Pt Basavaraj Bendigere, Pt Ramarao Naik and Pt Madhavagudi. According to Vidushi Lalit Rao, a vocalist in Agra gharana, doing something like this needs a lot of conviction and efforts. “The video is not just about the artistes, and the team has also talked to their disciples and co-artistes. I really appreciate the level of commitment and preparation by the team, especially Nagaraj Raoji. And being a part of this project, which has immense educational value, gives me a feeling of gratitude and pride,” she said.
These initiatives help people come to know of their local musicians and also the efforts put in by them to achieve the standard of art, Nirody said. “Documentation of such nature also helps to have these for the record for the future. I am happy about being part of this documentary, because it is, to an extent, recognition of my musicianship,” added Nirody, one of the seniormost Hindustani musicians in the state.