Entretien Avec Le Maître Harsh Wardhan Saint-Cloud, 21-10-2012 Durée: 40’03
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Jeanne Miramon-Bonhoure 2012 Entretien avec le maître Harsh Wardhan Saint-Cloud, 21-10-2012 Durée: 40’03 JMB: I am trying to understand how the practice of bansuri has developed in India You did not come inside otherwise you would have learned how to do practice because nobody is teaching these things and maybe even they don’t know. JMB: I remember taking lessons in Delhi from you, and I learnt a lot, I still have all the composition Composition doesn’t matter so much but to play the instrument, to blow in the instrument and how to keep your hand, how to keep your lips and blowing, to start. When we start blowing we have to fill there [shows] and release slowly and we don’t have to stop from our throat it should go freely but we have to give shape with our lips so lips should be … [shows] because some people do like this, some people like this, but it’s not like this. It is not western flute so that blowing is not same. And, this is the harmonic instrument, it is not tempered scale, so you have to learn that, even the flute is good, you have to listen to the drone, and think of the image of the note, it is possible only if you listen to music very much otherwise you don’t know, you listen to western music also but there is difference between the notes. Some notes are different from western notes. JMB: Sometimes it is little up or little down… Yes. So your pancham is little down you have to make two cents down, then it matches properly, and this is in each note. JMB: And you learnt that through your practice… Through the practice yes, that’s why, I told you, you stayed outside… JMB: Yes it was my mistake… If you had come inside…I was giving the lesson how to find the notes because in flute only 7 notes are available and just 5 you have to make with your fingers, your blowing, and your ears. There are not there you have to make them. And it is difficult to make komal re, komal dha, even madhyam also because all are half notes. JMB: I heard many people talking about your teaching, how did you develop these skills? Because I teach not like a profession, because I take good care for the student, you see Timon, excellent playing now, he is playing so good. He was there at my home for 1 week, and he says that he didn’t learn so much as he learnt in this week. Same type of lessons, because nobody will care, if you are playing fingers are going wrong, fingers going there or there.. they don’t care because they are money oriented people. And that’s why I’m giving free lesson in Delhi on Sundays. Today my son was there, there was 12 students. Four hours lessons, from 10am to 2pm, I just talked on skype, he said there was 12 students. Why they are coming? See I don’t want anyone to prevent from lessons, that’s why I give free lessons. JMB: And yourself when you learnt… Because my teacher didn’t charge anything. JMB: It was a different system at that time, the Guru-shishya parampara was very strong? It’s not like I learnt only from flutist, I learnt from vocalist also; that give me big advantage, to know the raga very well in depth. I don’t copy anyone, even my teachers; I want to play as Jeanne Miramon-Bonhoure 2012 I feel playing, and you have to play your own music, if I teach you, I teach you ok but when you perform you have to play your own music. That is what comes in Indian Classical Music. Because I teach you a composition that is written, few taan are written, but alap and all the improvisation is not written. In the beginning I give examples of alap, and taan also to practice so you know that how to make improvisation. But after learning 2, 3 years then I start playing without written, that’s what I do with Christophe and other like that. JMB: And your Guruji in vocal was also in Delhi? Yes, he was Pt Vinay Chandra Maudgalya, he was the Principal of Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, and there was one scholar teacher Pt Vasant Thakar, great vocalist, as a perfomer he may not be good, he was performing but as a teacher as his knowledge, what he gave, that was the great, now we don’t find such teacher (…) I know some… please don’t record this… // JMB: I made some genealogy trees of bansuri players in India, of different branch. One of your teachers was Prakash Saxena, am I right? [looking at the trees] Yes, Prakash Narain Saxena, Prakash Wadhera. No, Prahalaad Nath was not a student of Prakash Wadhera. Kailash Sharma, that’s right. JMB: I know you learnt also from Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia? Yes, yes. Because…I changed my hands after Guruji told me to change, because I was playing same way as Prakash Saxena was playing, but when I had problem with my fingers so I changed my hand. JMB: So Hariji asked you to change your hand? Yes because I had problem in playing half notes, it was difficult for me to play half notes.. JMB: you were playing like this? With the tip of your fingers? Yes, yes like this, I can show you, I’m looking for the photo to show you…. JMB: and When did you meet Hariji? In 1973, or seventy… yes 73. JMB: At that time he was just starting to be famous, right? Yes… JMB: Prakash Saxena was playing only flute or he was singing also? He was playing my flutes, because I was not having flute because nobody give. Then Prakash Saxena gave me one old flute of him, but after few days he needed that flute for himself so I was again handicapped, I didn’t have any flute then I started making flute and now… JMB: Yes, I think now your flutes are one of the most famous in North India…good quality. I guess it takes lots of time to make those flutes. The bamboo comes from Assam? Yes it comes from Assam and other places also. JMB: Yes? Which other places? Yes, South India also but… I don’t use south Indian bamboo… Jeanne Miramon-Bonhoure 2012 JMB: It’s not the same quality…? Quality is quite good also but difficult to find that bamboo, very difficult and it is very thik bamboo, because now south Indian player they are paying my flutes. JMB: So you make special flute for them? Yes, yes. Carnatic flute is different. [showing a picture] You see, I show you, how I’m holding the flute. JMB: Oh, yes like that! …the Prasanna family is also holding the flute like this. Yes, like this. Because in this way it was not possible for me … see this: this is my first concert, I was playing concert like that when I changed. People were saying ‘no no don’t change’ but I stopped it; with power then you can do everything. JMB: So why at that time you were playing this way? Because my teacher was playing same so he didn’t ask me to change, Prakash Saxena was playing like that. He was also the teacher of Prakash Wadhera and he also learnt form Pandit Vinay Chandra Maudgalya. JMB: and most of the flute players at that time they were playing like this? Prakash Wadhera was playing one more difficult way, it was very difficult to play like this [shows], he was playing like this, I can’t hold the flute like this. JMB: Ah yes, I heard Pt. Devendra Murdeshwar was also playing this way, no? But Devendra Murdeshwar was playing like this (showing). JMB: Oh! Even different! Yes! Pannalal Ghosh was plying like this also, I met Devendra Murdeshwar, I didn’t met Pannalal Ghosh because he died before I started learning. So they were closing this hole with this finger [showing]. But it is not possible for us to close this hole with this finger so I created a new way… JMB: and Hariji was also playing in a different way at that time? No he plays same, he didn’t change anything, because his imagination, his knowledge, and his wheel power and working too much practice, practice too much, god gifted, because there is no match, nobody can do, always so… and his playing also, he doesn’t play any music of any one. Also the family member of [showing Prasanna picture], their teacher.. they follow him, but I play different, completely, completely different. I learnt from him, I was playing many concert with him. So … After one year I changed my fingers, I stopped playing concert. JMB: because of the fingering?! Yes because it was difficult to make half notes. Because I was playing concerts like this [showing old fingering]. That was my first concert [referring to his picture] but I told Hariji I had problems with half notes. He said it will be difficult to make half notes, so you do like this, he said just like this…. so since that date until today… my all student they play so good. JMB: yes, it’s true! It is not only Christophe, the other student in India they are playing from the other family they don’t teach to student that thing, to… because they don’t want, if they have competitors… Jeanne Miramon-Bonhoure 2012 JMB: they have already so many members in the family…but it’s.