Regular concert tours, frequent studio albums, a desire to balance traditional and experimental music, and the need to get adequate personal space and family time define the lifestyles of many younger Indian classical musicians. For 35-year-old sitar exponent Anoushka Shankar, the additional task has been to carry forward the huge legacy of her father, Bharat Ratna Pandit Ravi Shankar. She says of the challenge, “I try to keep priorities clear and make choices accordingly. Plus, I dedicate all my efforts to my art.”
Shankar has been performing across the globe regularly, and her current India tour is aimed at promoting her latest album Land Of Gold . Besides shows in Chennai, New Delhi and Bengaluru, she will perform in Mumbai on Saturday evening and at the NH7 Weekender in Pune on Sunday. “The album is very distinct from my other work. Therefore, we will play a special show thoroughly designed around the music and themes from Land of Gold ,” she says.
Last year, Shankar released the purely classical Home featuring ragas Jogeshwari and Maanjh Khamaj. In keeping with her desire to produce different kinds of music, she wanted to do something unique this time. “ Land Of Gold was written in response to the current overwhelming humanitarian crisis affecting millions of refugees. I was nursing my newborn son last summer and watching a lot of news. It affected me so deeply and painfully to see how many children were suffering on these harrowing journeys to safety, and how disgustingly they were being treated when they reached Europe.”
Musically, the sitar player says Land Of Gold is an attempt at pushing even further in the crossover space, and thus it primarily blends Indian music with electronic elements and jazz. The recording is co-produced by Shankar and her husband, filmmaker Joe Wright. It features multi-percussionist Manu Delago, shehnai player Sanjeev Shankar and bassist Larry Grenadier, besides guest appearances by rapper and songwriter M.I.A., singer Alev Lenz and actor Vanessa Redgrave, who recites a poem.
The India tour comes soon after Shankar’s shows in the US and Europe. Last month, she performed Ravi Shankar’s famous ‘Sitar Concerto No. 2 (Raga Mala)’ with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Manfred Honeck. Next year, two performances are lined up with conductor Zubin Mehta, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Berlin Philharmonic.
She says, “I’ve been playing my father’s concertos for years and love the experience. There are improvised passages written as spaces for the sitar soloist. I play the composition faithfully, as is expected for a concerto, but on the improvised passages I play more freely from my own creativity, but still stay in line with my father’s composition.”
Shankar says her attempt will be to play various genres, and within the experimental space, try out different sounds. Three years ago, her album Traces of You featured three songs by her half sister Norah Jones on vocals. Does she plan any more work with Jones? “We don’t have any other collaborations planned at present, though more is certainly possible in the future. We discuss all aspects of each other’s work and lives with each other.”
Traces of You was the first album Shankar released after Ravi Shankar passed away in December 2012. When asked what qualities her father inculcated most in her, Shankar says, “Curiosity, love and a sense of wonder at the infinite nature of music.”
She also cites the role of her mother, Sukanya, and husband Wright in her career. Maintaining a balance between music and family life has also been a challenge, but Shankar enjoys being with her sons Zubin, who is five years old, and Mohan, who is one. “They are both definitely musical, but they are so young that we are just keeping it about fun and games at the moment,” she laughs.
Over the years, Shankar has also faced numerous attempts, mostly from the older generation of listeners, to constantly compare her with her father. “There are some days I find it more frustrating than others. But I try to understand where they are coming from and to stay focused on what I am doing myself.”
As to how far she has succeeded in spreading Ravi Shankar’s ideals, she says, “I don’t know if a question of ‘success’ is one I can answer. I’m not trying to prove anything to anyone. There’s no country to run or royal crown to wear. I’m just living my own life and making music.” That attitude has surely defined her approach.
The author is a freelance music writer
Anoushka Shankar will perform at 8 p.m. today at Shanmukhananda Hall, Sion (bookmyshowcom), and tomorrow at NH7 Weekender Pune (insider.in)
