‘Silsila’ again?

“Only a few decades back nobody knew about the santoor even in Jammu. Today there are restaurants, and even a soap is named after it,” Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma’s easy words belie the mystery element that his curly hair, jade green eyes and towering persona evoke.

The man who brought the instrument of a hundred strings from the valleys of anonymity to the heights of classical music is also known for some of the best melodies that Hindi cinema has provided. From contributing to the background score of “Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje” to composing the lilting tunes of “Silsila” and “Chandni” with friend Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Panditji has bridged the eternal classes and masses divide with élan. And is now open to the idea of composing for films again!

“I differ with those who say fusion is a new phenomenon. It has been there since the late ’30s in the music of Hindi films. The language was Hindi, the song was composed in a raga or a folk melody and the orchestration included instruments like the cello, Spanish guitar, saxophones, clarinet, sitar and Indian flute. What is happening today could be called World Music. New experiments can’t be stopped. Serious attempts which create eternal melody will last and those which are gimmicks will fizzle out.”


Courtesy:thehindu.com
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