Flute :: Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia
Santoor :: Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma
Tabla :: U. Zakir Hussain
Shehnai :: U. Bismillah Khan
Violin ::

That’s right. I’m referring to Dr. L. Subramanian, popularly known as L.S.

I first heard LS live at the Nehru Centre auditorium during the Malhar festival. Already fascinated by his wonderful music which I had heard only on radio or cd’s, watching the maestro perform live was a thrilling experience altogether. I heard him play next at Sawai Gandharva, and the audience went crazy. It is believed that the audience at Sawai Gandharva festival is most difficult to appease. A harsh Pune critic cheering an artist playing Carnatak music is indeed an achievement. His third performance was at Vile Parle, at the Prabha Atre festival. Wow again.

To learn music from the maestros is a rare privilege indeed. I’ve seen people struggle for getting accepted as a shishya (disciple) by particular gurus (teachers). This is because the Indian tradition of education calls for extreme devotion to the cause and the disciple is expected to sacrifice a lot.

My friend Hari from Bangalore is now a student of t h e Dr. L. Subramanian. Hari also writes poetry (see his blog) and my infrequent chats with him are always insightful.

I’m very proud to know him.

• YorkU Fine Arts Festival (2)
• Uptown Monsoon Waves (0)
• SwarGanga Music Festival 2005 (0)
• Sitar on Sunday (2)
• New found love (3)