There is something about Hyderabad that makes Pt Jayateerth Mevundi smile even before he begins to sing. As he returned for Uttar Dakshin’s 15th season, the evening felt less like another concert and more like a meeting with old friends. For him, this city is not just an audience, but a memory he keeps revisiting. In a candid conversation with CE, Pt Jayateerth discusses Hyderabad, Hindustani music, and more.
For Pt Jayateerth, Hyderabad has always felt familiar. Speaking about his association with the city, he says, “I feel really good. I have been to Hyderabad many times before.” He fondly recalls earlier visits when Mohan Hemmadi ji and Pancham Nishad, led by Shashi Vyas, would host performances in the city.
When asked about unforgettable moments in his journey, his memories travel back to 1995. “The first thing that I recollect is from 1995, when Bhimsen Joshi ji used to organise the Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav, and although the festival continues, it was different when he himself was organising it. I had received a direct call from him to sing at the festival, and I can never forget that. Bhimsen ji sat in front of me, listened to the song I was singing, and even did the tanpura himself, so I truly feel there cannot be anything better than that,” he says, adding, “After that, a lot happened. When APJ Abdul Kalam ji was the President, I was awarded the Young Maestro Award by him, and he even asked me about my favourite track on stage. Then Lata Mangeshkar ji, who had her own LM Music company, personally called me to say that her new company’s first classical album would be mine, and she herself released my album, praised me, and gave me her blessings. Later, Ravi Shankar ji, the sitar player, sat in front of his house in Delhi and listened to my song. In this way, I can say that I received the blessings of four Bharat Ratnas in my life: Abdul Kalam ji, Pt Bhimsen Joshi ji, Lata Mangeshkar ji and Ravi Shankar ji, and that has been a very big thing in my career; I have been blessed by them.”
The motivation to continue, he says, comes from listeners. “Whenever we sing or do a programme, people listen to it, and the feedback we get after listening to it makes us want to do more and do something new. That is why I keep searching for new things. In Hindustani music, the bandish we say, the lyrics, the main lyrics, and I keep searching for new things. During the Prana Pratishtapana in Ayodhya Ram Mandir, within one month, there was a programme of many artists in front of God in the temple, and I thought that we normally sing bhajans of Ram, Krishna, Devi and Ganesh, so should we do something new. That is why there is a search in music, and I thought that although there are many bandishes on Ram, should I do a bandish on Ayodhya, and when I did it, people liked it, and it is still there. I did a lot of bandishes like this, and that is what inspires me,” concludes Pt Jayateerth.