Face to face with Guitar Prasanna

I intend to project this column more as a thought-provoking expression from the heart of a young musician than a casual interview. For anyone who would like to know Guitar Prasanna as an artist, you can reach him at guitarprasanna.com.

Early days with the guitar

"I picked up the guitar about 17 years ago just like that and nothing really inspired me" was how he began. He was simultaneously into Carnatic music and Western classical at the same time playing for cine songs and for professional troupes as a rock guitarist. He is probably the only carnatic musician with such a diverse and dynamic background. "This" he says, "has helped me to see Carnatic Music for what it is objectively". During his degree at IIT, he was well established as a Rock and Jazz guitarist and was doing a lot of original compositions in college competitions again probably the first one to do so. His breakthrough in Carnatic music took place at his first major Carnatic Music concert at The Music Academy in 1989. After two years of a Software job he went to Berkelee College of Music for pursuing studies in Music.

Carnatic music abroad

"Everything changed after I went abroad. Contrary to what people think, I got much more interested in Carnatic music and from then on what I wanted to pursue had only one basis which is - We should know about Western music and they should recognize Carnatic music. Carnatic Music is relatively unknown outside of South India and India. It is just one of the 1000 kinds of music called World Music. In the West, Carnatic music is generally performed to a set of Indian audience living in big cities. At some point of time people have to really think whether they are taking this music to people who don't know about Carnatic Music or are they playing it for themselves.

For a lot of people it is just that I want to perform and make a good career. And the question of what I have to give back to music is serious only for a few people. "I take this seriously because this is the music that makes me what I am. If you are not willing to know the culture of music, then you don't have anything to do with music. I am trying to make people in the West realise the culture of Carnatic Music. In that context people should know where this music is coming from. One 'Theeratha Vilayaattu Pillai' and 'Chinnanjiru Kiliye' in Carnegie Hall - outside India have no meaning to non-Indians. There it doesn't matter what you play but how you play what you play. Mere playing of 15 songs makes them think that it is not a serious form of music.

Q: How do we make it look serious?
A: Play the long drawn-out compositions of Muthuswami Dikshithar and Thyagaraja. Make them realise that it is a great effort to play these compositions and that these are as great as that of Beethoven or Mozart. If you take a song we have the neraval, the kalpanaswaram, the krithi, the Eduppu at which the swara has to be taken, etc. Explain that there is a reason to why this proportion exists by taking major long compositions of our great musicians and elaborate it. Unless we consciously go deep into it we can't do it.

Q: How do you do that?
A: When a non-Carnatic musician asks me what a Raga is I explain it in the way he understands. I tell them how Bach used to write counterpoints and take the example of how Dikshithar creates his sangathis. Automatically people think that this is a great art form. I tell them that we have 1000 Ragas and I use them in my Western Compositions and tell them that there is this great resource and they can do something that no Western Musician has done. When they see that they think, "This person is dealing with our music in a way we haven't thought about". My orchestral work, Piano Sonatas and String Quartets are generally difficult to understand how they were written. It is simple. I'd have used some ideas from Carnatic music but not like Carnatic Music. I make it look like one.

Q: What should be our attitude towards other music?
A: If we are completely into Carnatic music we are in our own world which is okay. But we should respect other music. We can peacefully co exist and say, "We have this beautiful tradition, but again other traditions that we may like or dislike. But let's accept it". Use the golden opportunity of playing in a temple in New York or Chicago to also know about their music.

Q: How should others perceive Carnatic music?
A: My mission in life is to bring Carnatic music to what it deserves to be. I have taken Carnatic Music to places where it has not been before. Instead of New York and Chicago, I play it in Alaska, Africa and Ghana where the non-Indian audience is much more than the Indians. In fact, I was the first Indian who has performed there and the response was great. Our December season is probably one of the greatest Music Festivals of the World that most of us do not know of. We have this great music and should make people know its greatness. We musicians, I think, should probably be more responsible with respect to Carnatic Music. When people all over the world see Carnatic Music as a great Art and not just one of the thousand other music called the World music, I think we would have done something great to our music.

Q: Is being into Western Music a way to popularise Carnatic music?
A: No it is a natural process. That I play Jazz and Carnatic is a natural process. There are two things. What I want to do for me and to the music. To me both are the same. I have students learning Carnatic music in various instruments. They learn Carnatic Music in order to see if they can use it in their music.

Skepticism about playing the guitar

A: It has been there for a long time. I can't control that. The only thing that drives me is my bhakthi for Thyagaraja, Dikshithar and other great people. I play Carnatic music because that is my life. In the process lot of people enjoy and like it.

Audience

Never impose your choice of songs on the audience and say that's what they like. We have to talk to our audience and let them know what we are playing. Not just sit there, play and go away. Make communication with them. I would like to have and do have a loyal audience who will always believe that I play well and will stand by me in the long run.

Q: How do you see yourself 10 years from now?
A: I'll be the same person as what I am. Achievement wise I'll be an extension of what I'm doing. Hopefully reaching out to a greater audience, making others know more about Carnatic Music and making people hear Western art form more.

Greatest moments

My interaction with great musicians - Moving with people who were my greatest heroes is something I feel great about. I have had beautiful experiences talking about music with Illayaraja. It is a great personal experience to talk to a person who was your idol once and identify points of common interest. I feel very fortunate. One of my greatest moments was probably my Alaska performance.

Q: What do you do otherwise?
A: I love art. Whether it is painting or literature I tend to spend my time artistically and educatively. I am very much into photography. I watch documentaries, art films, Discovery channel and the like.

One last word . . .

We have Great Carnatic musicians whom the world has not seen. I think it is high time that they were honoured and brought in the open.

-Lakshmi
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