Kojagiri Pournima is a unique festival for Maharashtrians. Might-i wanted to present something unique to its audiences and something that is very dear to all Maharashtrians. Marathi Natya sangeet, a gift to the theatre movement, is famous world over. Natya sangeet is incomplete without the accompanists that include tabla, tanpura, flute, sarangi and of course the ‘samvadini’ (harmonium). So what better option than to present a concert on Natya Sangeet?
We are lucky to have Shri Jayant Bhalodkar, an authority on samvadini, on our shores in New Zealand. Jayant had the privilege of getting guidance under the legendary samvadini player, Govindrao Patwardhan, regarded the finest player of Samvadini.
Prashant Belwalkar spoke with Jayantji.
Can you let our readers know where did this all begin, who were your early inspirations?
We are originally from Baroda in Gujarat. Music runs in our family. I inherited our family legacy of music from my father and my uncle, both noted musicians in their own right. As a child, I was fascinated by our school band, and felt motivated to pick up an instrument for playing on par with them. I decided to play the flute, as its melody and sound attracted me to it. I pursued a master’s degree and achieved ‘Sangeet Visharad’ in Flute.
Your journey started with Flute, what made you change tack and move towards harmonium?
I had mastered the art of playing the flute, but the constant travel that I had to undertake during those years, affected my health, specially my lungs and made it difficult for me to continue my ‘riyaz’ regularly. Hence I decided to switch to something that was lighter and would not put pressure on my health. I found an ideal outlet in Samvadini. Baroda has been a hotbed of music thanks to some excellent patronage that is received in the region to the musicians and I was lucky to meet such luminaries who helped me achieve success.
How did the Harmonium gets its name ‘Samvadini’. There is some confusion regarding this…
Harmonium is originally a French instrument developed to create harmony (hence the name) which was brought to Indian shores by the British around 150 years ago. It used to have a foot pedal and was played with both the hands. In our classical music all the accompanists used to sit alongside the singer. This was creating an odd feeling as the organ player was the only one sitting on a chair. ‘S Ramchandra’ the famous instrument manufacturer then took up the challenge to redesign the organ into a sitting format. The foot pedal was remodelled on the back side of the keyboard and thus ‘samvadini’ was born. Now the ‘samvadini’ player could sit alongside the singer. The Indian version is confirming to more ‘sur’ and talks through its harmony (hence the name ‘samvadini’) than its original counterpart and quickly became the favourite accompanist of all the singers.
So how did you receive your guidance from the legendary Govindrao Patwardhan?
There used to be constant ‘mehfils’ of established singers and players in Baroda and I was lucky to get a chance to play with these greats. Govindrao Patwardhan immediately saw potential in me and agreed to take me under his guidance and taught me all that I know about Natya sangeet.
Your book ‘Samvadini’ is in Hindi and is the foremost reference book on music. Why did you choose to write in Hindi and not your mother tongue Marathi?
I wanted my book on ‘Samvadini’ to reach a wider audience across India; hence I chose to write it in Hindi instead of Marathi. This is now available not only in India, but overseas as well. Soon there is going to be an English edition in New Zealand. This is the first and only reference book on Harmonium in India, hence the popularity.
Tell us something about your New Zealand experience and what bought you here?
It is a case of the horse dragging a chariot. My son migrated to New Zealand around 2003 and I followed him here. My daughter still lives in India (Gujarat). I have now lost my soul mate, but I keep myself occupied with my interest in music and am trying to spread this in New Zealand as well. I have had the benefit of playing at the ISKON festival as well as performing all over New Zealand. It also gave me the opportunity to work with visiting Indian artists. Recently I had the privilege of accompanying Smt Basavi Mukherjee of Shantiniketan as well as Maharaja Ranjitsingh Gaikwad of Baroda, himself a well known singer. I have also conducted workshops on Samvadini with other instrument players like Lester Silver, Basant Madhur. It has been a satisfying feeling that I can still keep the art alive over here, though we are far away from India. I hope the next generation carries this forward.
Any regrets or ambitions still to be fulfilled?
There is only one ambition – to hold a “National Samvadini sammelan” in India. I have been trying to do that over the last couple of years, but my health has not been the same as earlier and it is quite a strenuous job to get it going. I have laid the foundation of it and hope to achieve that in the next couple of years’ by Gods grace.
Jayant Bhalotkar will perform next on October 3 at Mt. Albert War Memorial Hall, Mt Albert, in the show “Sharadache Chandane” at 7.30 pm.
Additional refence courtesy Dharma Bhaskar, March 2009, Indo Times, Divya Bhaskar.