HYDERABAD: Known for his exquisite capability to go ‘breathless’ and mesmerising voice, singer Shankar Mahadevan performed in the city recently.
Excerpts from the interview
How do you feel about performing at the Heartfulness Institute?
Heartfulness Institute teaches about being grateful for what god has given you. The minds of children are being sharpened here through meditation. A person becomes calmer, happier and spreads joy. This was a fantastic conclave where more than 120 spiritual leaders from every single religion of this country came together. It’s not an easy task.
How does spirituality resonate in music?
Music is spirituality, they are not two different things. You resonate with the seven notes. Why do you start crying when you hear my song Maa? Or why do you start dancing when you hear the song Koi Kahe Kehta Rahe? Music gives you joy, or an emotional quotient. That is because those notes are resonating with your heart. And what is that? That is spirituality.
Do you think devotion and spirituality exist when you experiment with different kinds of music?
As long as you are with the seven notes, music is spiritual.
Could you share what you connect with, in Hyderabad?
I have come only a zillion times here! Hyderabad is a young city. It’s a city full of young energy because of the strong computer influence and the whole digital age. Every time I perform here in front of youngsters with multi-cultural backgrounds—whether I sing in Hindi or Telugu— they just wrap it up with open arms. I’ve had a fantastic time here during my performances. The city is so beautiful and the food is just out of this world.
A lot of independent music is also surfacing in Hyderabad. How do you see this entire shift in music?
Independent music is not just surfacing in Hyderabad, but all over the world. The reason being, this is the digital age where you don’t need to sit in the reception lobby of a music company and hope that your song gets accepted by the owner of the company. You’ve got direct contact with your audience through a YouTube channel. Put it out there; if Maa Saraswati is with you and if your luck is there, you will become a hit.
How do you see the difference between somebody getting classical training, giving in the years of devotion to music and somebody just putting their music on the internet and getting popular?
So what? They also can put their music out. Classical training is for improving your grammar. It is totally up to you how deep do you want to dive into the art of music. Do you want to learn literature? How many books do you want to read? How many authors do you want to explore? How many hours of education do you want? That goes the same for music. Do you want to know about the ragas and taals? It’s all up to you. Yet, it doesn’t mean you can’t become popular. Popularity and depth of music— they’re two, totally different things. If you have both, you can sustain for a long time.
How do you see the whole gharana system in classical music?
I don’t believe in the gharana system. I know that it’s been here for many years. I just feel that there are only two types of gharanas. One is good music gharana and one is bad music gharana.
Have you heard of any Telugu rappers or independent artistes?
I must have heard a lot on YouTube and Instagram. Nowadays, one song is one minute in a reel. I don’t remember the names but the talent is immense, especially in Telugu folk music. I just love it.
Any upcoming projects in Telugu?
Well, we are talking about a very big project in Telugu. Let’s hope it materialises. In Telugu, I would love to collaborate with a lot of artistes. There are some fabulous composers here like Devi Sri Prasad, Sai Thaman and MM Keeravani, who is my favourite. We have this mutual admiration club, Keeravani sir and myself. If I compose something nice, he sends me a WhatsApp. If he does something good, I send him a message. So mutual admiration is always there between us. I just love it.
How do you like the ‘brand’ — Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy?
It’s a brand that’s been there for 28 years. I better like it!