CHENNAI: The tunes from the bows and strings of music duo Ganesh-Kumaresh’s violin are a soothing balm to calm your nerves. In a serenely lit auditorium in Chennai, the brothers recently enthralled the audience with several renditions accompanied by other instrumentalists. This was their gift to the rasikas in their 50th year of togetherness. The brothers’ voice exudes gratitude as they say, “Thank you for appreciating our work and encouraging our interpretations and compositions through these 50 years. We are grateful for your role in keeping our rich classical music traditions alive and growing. We request you to continue sharing your love for traditional music, especially with the younger talents and rasikas.”
Fifty years ago, a young Ganesh and Kumaresh took to the stage in Delhi. There was a nip in the air and all that the brothers did was enjoy. “We recall a chill Delhi evening around 7 pm — Pragati Maidan was lit up — it was more like a fare. There was the AIR pavilion, and we can recall playing Abhogi Varnam, Brova Barama and we had the very senior Vidwan Ramnad Easwaran sir on the mridangam,” they share. In a chat with CE, the duo turns the clock back and walks into the present.
Fifty years of performing as a duo. How has your equation been on and off stage?
The equation has been the same — the difference has been in the depth of understanding. The more we have grown up together the deeper the understanding among us as brothers and artists. Differences are a given, but the reactions have slowly changed into responses. Going from being child prodigies to being artists together and in our own rights, it has been a beautiful journey and an adventure.
You both have learnt under your father, and Kumaresh, you have often credited your brother as your immediate guru. Tell us about how and what you learn from each other.
From my father, I learnt the art of playing the violin and from my brother, I learnt the art of playing and making music. When you are partnering with somebody for 50 years, there will be many things you learn from each other but for me, the biggest takeaway has been the awareness of experiencing music as a reflection from within.
How do you reinvent yourself?
A way to look at how and why we reinvent our work is…Every 10 years, there is a generational change when it comes to the audience. It has been our constant endeavour to stay true to the traditional Carnatic music compositions while reinventing our presentation to keep it fresh and relevant to the present generation of the audience. Reinvention is key to staying relevant and keeping up with the discerning audience who continue evolving and looking for more.
This has also helped us understand music in a more comprehensive way. In addition, the more we practise music, the more we understand that though music is multidimensional, it has a direct correlation to personal taste, character and values. In a way, music is a reflection of one’s personal identity and can reflect a person’s nature. There is a double-edged refinement that happens — in the music as well as within the musicians themselves. This has been a great revelation for us.
We noticed a huge gap/vacuum when it comes to instrumental compositions in Carnatic music. For musicians who wanted to study raga through instruments and develop their skills, there were no available presentations. We went about changing that and created instrumental compositions, especially for violin. This helped us present ragas differently by bringing about a structural change in the compositions. We normally have a varnam, a kriti or a swarajiti, ragam thanam pallavi, which are a part of the compositions. We added this new structure called ‘Raga Pravaham’ where a melody is defined as a raga in a talam but the structure of the melody is very different from any of the available compositions in Carnatic music. This was very well-received by critics and our rasikas.
It is the constant inner desire to bring in a broader, deeper and more contemporary understanding of the art form and also create a space where the path is made clear for individual expressions for the students. To do that we have to present a point of view that is relevant to the present way of life.
Kumaresh, you started Bowing with the Fiddling Monk during the pandemic and moved to the online scene. How important is it to stay with the times?
I always believed that music is a medium for everybody to experience, feel and express themselves. With that belief, I set up ‘Bowing with the Fiddling Monk’, an online music portal where anybody from any walk of life can pick up the violin and learn to play it from scratch. I am available at every step to guide the students through the learning process. The digital medium is a wonderful medium of tutoring as I can reach students across different geographies. The students can learn from the well-designed training video modules. As a part of the courses, they must submit videos of them playing the violin. All the submissions are reviewed by me personally and they receive feedback and get the correct guidance to correct their technique and move forward in their learning journey. I can say that in the last two years, my students have made phenomenal progress through this platform.
Over the years, how has the Margazhi music season changed?
The venues have become better in the past few years. The sound system is definitely better though it can really become more artiste-friendly in some premier institutions. We see many younger crowds coming into the sabhas, which is a fantastic thing to see. Lots of young talents/artists are exploring and presenting in their new and unique styles. It is refreshing to see this. Also, organisers are opening newer avenues to present Carnatic music and reach new audiences, which is very helpful in keeping our traditional music alive and trending.
How has the audience perception, acceptance and expectations from concerts changed?
The audience is always very sharp and has a special ear for new ideas and creativity. That way, they are always welcoming of new interpretations and ideas of our art form. They are receptive to quality music, and it is only getting better with the advent of technology and the growing ecosystem. Change is a constant and our audiences are the best examples of how to embrace change.
Over the years we have witnessed that the audience is always eager to listen to innovative and creative ideas and welcome them if presented in a way which is interesting to them. The journey in music is about exploring and experiencing. We are given the freedom to explore it the way we want to. As performers we let our imagination run wild while exploring and presenting the interpretations in a manner which is in tune with the science and grammar of the art form.
What can we expect from you this Margazhi season? What does your future look like from the 50th year onwards?
As always, this Margazhi also we look forward to being part of this one and only explosive music festival of the world, the Marghazhi Mahautsavam. We don’t necessarily bind ourselves to a thought process for the future. Music will set the course as it has done so far. The musical adventure is unlimited, and we want to keep ourselves unbounded to receive and express as many musical ideas as we can.