… hindustani high school
So Bangalore on a whim an accident a chance meeting and hells own bus ride from the coast. One of the cities I’d not expected to get to. I am not surprised by it. It’s dirty, probably slightly more polluted than Chennai, though less piss and shit on the pavement, and a few more trees. There is a central park area, but away from the Majestic area, near the state bus and railway, where I’d decided to stay.
Accomodation is difficult and expensive. A lot of workers in Bangalore from elsewhere live in hotels, a lot of travelling businessmen, a lot of reasons not to have rooms especially available for tourists, especially single white males speaking only English. A lot of to and fro with heavy back pack, and a few hours after arrival, and several kilometres with about 40kg of baggage, and I settle on a place that was one of the first offered. This turns out as a comfortable choice, though hot water doesn’t get turned on till the day I leave.
A quick call to Narasimhalu, and we are on for that evening. I arrange to call him before I leave so he can direct an auto to his place. Fortunately, the first driver is honest, so I know that it’s a 20Rs ride … handy information for the next day when I start to encounter drivers who are refusing the meter and asking 50 or 80 for the same ride (I just walk away from them).
A small place, a lot more humble than Kadri’s digs. A bed, pictures of gods and gurus, some mats, tamboura, an electronic sruti box, a clarinet, a small kitchen with altar, another practise room to one side. We launch straight in. Narasimhalu’s English is a lot rougher than Kadri’s and his accent difficult. But he is a committed teacher, and there is always a student coming in or out.
He gives me a Bhim Palaesi, a rag that has a Karnatic equivalent.It is also something that he has released as a jugalbandi with Kadri. We start with the raga, which has a Carnatic equivalent, but then launch straight up into a piece. Over the next few days, most mornings and evenings we do a line or two at a time. Sometimes the gamak throws my ear out. Sometimes he does it on purpose to challenge me. Sometimes he forces me to record myself so I can hear how bad I sound. But we also cover a basic alap, an evolution of phrases, some basic phrases that evolve out of and into the melody. Some decorations.
One of the differences between the styles here is that the Hindustani song is seen more as a framework for evolving ideas and progressive decoration, phrases. In contemporary Carnatic music, songs are intricate, and though most teachers have slight variations in how they play or decorate, they will insist on the absolute correctness of the way they play a particular song, and impart this sensibility into their students.
Mostly the Hindustani Gamak is in the form of slides from the Sa, the Pa, or the adjacent notes. Less of the intricate warbling of Carnatic music, or the particular wobble between notes. Still there are strong similarities between the techniques. A lot of the gamak is done by a combination of vibrato, and keying, which gives many notes a strangely swung feel. This plays havoc with my ear and timing. Sometimes I’m ok, sometimes I’m floundering on things that are simple. But a lot of the gamak is done by sliding fingers off notes, a more natural technique on clari not possible on sax.
The main difference/difficulty we have is that he is using the standard Indian clarinet, plastic and simple system (19th century replica). Larger tone holes, fewer connected keys, and fewer redundant useful levers. A weaker instrument for chromatic playing (irrelevant in India), but a better instrument for sliding between notes (crucial in India). At this stage, I am torn between focusing on the modern western clari and evolving my technique, or learning the older instrument, or perhaps picking up a shennai and applying the raga to a traditional instrument. Each has pros and cons.
Hindustani style has a lot less focus on particular techniques, gamak is similar to the equivalent in Carnatic, but less importance placed on it. And songs are taught straight up with ragas. A change from the frustrating experience with Kadri and TVG: pattern after pattern exercise after excercise, technique after technique, a collection of very simple or butt ugly boring technical pieces without much musicality, till I can finally approach a piece of music that is intricate and sublime.
There is a lot of ambiguity about how the lessons are paid for. Initially free, because he likes me (this is mutual), an annoying moment where he asks for my clari setup (this is worth about 200$ aus, so this would be pretty damn expensive by Indian standards … but if I get the chance and the money, I will help him out there). But he also wants me to help set up programs and perhaps classes in Oz. This would be a challenge, but I want to stay in touch with all these players, and it would be amazing to get him and Kadri out for some duets. Eventually I give him a small cash settlement, and we are fine and cruisy again.
Last couple of lessons, my flu gets much worse, and I have to skip them.I’m having trouble moving, let alone thinking or practicing. Narasimhalu returns to his main base in Northern Karnataka, Richur, and after a bit of contemplation, I decide on nearby Mysore for a bit of recovery.
I still feel more committed to the Carnatic style, but there are so many barriers there … and in many ways playing soprano I am on my own. I’m hoping for a few clues, and maybe it will be after I’ve left India, or perhaps when I return (I may have to do the alto thing ….eck). Perhaps after I have techniques developed for sax I can find a teacher who uses the soprano sruti on violin or flute. I’m still hoping to get more lessons from Kadri though. But this Hindustani intensive is good, and is good for my clarinet technique. More importantly, the Hindustani clari is at the same sruti as the Carnatic alto. I am learning musical pieces, and it has broken through at least one layer of frustration that built up during the weeks of gurukulam.
