“Baithak”is a traditional style of singing/ playing music in the absense of huge audience or electronic enhancers . “Baithak”s could be gathering of music lovers , or practice sessions for a concert . Or it could be as pure as singing/playing music when desired. The music evolving there is pure, soul full but sometimes it gets so serious and complicated. Experiments , birth of new ideas are all features of Baithaks. Baithak simply means “sitting” !!
How do I explain this musician ? A magician ? If we try to stand outside his house and listen to what he is playing we may confuse him as A fine Saxophone player! But he is the harmonium master. I am fortunate to enjoy his music at his home in a baithak” style.
It was a regular Baithak rather a practice session for an upcoming experimental concert “Anahat” ( details are given below ) at Ravindra sir’s house . It was a room in the in underground with normal window lights . Soon the music session began with just three people in the room. Dr Katoti who is leading the harmonium, was accompanied by Vid. Sangeeth on leg harmonium and Shri Surya on accompanying harmonium . As the music started flowing in the compositions , the pure form of the sound left me distracted .
Check out more details about this particular program which used to explain in the concert
What is Anahat?
A word with the listeners…….
On an endless exploration into the world of music, experiments are a must. encouraged by the affection and response from listeners for the previous experiments, we are in front of you with a new concept.
‘Instrumental Music’ is a commonality between the possibilities of the instrument and the music. While presenting any particular genre of music, the instrumental possibilities get restricted. This is more so in case of classical music.
This is a humble attempt to explore the possibilities on Harmonium and extend the playing. Based on the principle of harmony, the recital features usage of both the hands, arpeggio, vamping, contras etc. The presentation includes three Harmoniums and one Leg Harmonium. The rhythm is derived from the phrases played. Total absence of percussion is the unique feature of this concept and the name is ‘Anahat’
The music presented here is not be labelled as any particular genre. This is not classical music. The main focus of the recital is ‘feel’ and ‘expression’. We are sure you will listen to the music with affection and enjoy. We are presenting this concept within the limits of our knowledge and capacity. we dont claim perfection. Kindly share your feelings and opinion so that we will see you again along with refinement and improvements, next time.
musically yours
Ravindra Gururaj Katoti
ಮೊದಲ ನುಡಿ …..
ಸಾಂಗೀತಿಕ ಜಗತ್ತಿನ ಹುಡುಕಾಟದಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಯೋಗಗಳು ಅನಿವಾರ್ಯ. ಈವರೆಗಿನ ನಮ್ಮ ಹಲವು ಪ್ರಯೋಗಗಳಿಗೆ ಶ್ರೋತೃಗಳು ನೀಡಿದ ಪ್ರೀತಿ, ಸ್ಪಂದನ, ಪ್ರೋತ್ಸಾಹಗಳಿಂದ ಹೊಸತಾದ ಪರಿಕಲ್ಪನೆಯೊಂದಿಗೆ ತಮ್ಮೆದುರು ಬಂದಿದ್ದೇವೆ .
‘ವಾದ್ಯ ಸಂಗೀತ ‘- ಇದು ವಾದ್ಯ ಧರ್ಮ ಹಾಗು ಸಂಗೀತ ಧರ್ಮ ಇವೆರಡರ ಸಮನ್ವಯವಾಗಿರುತ್ತದೆ. ಯಾವುದೇ ಒಂದು ಸಂಗೀತ ಪ್ರಕಾರವನ್ನು ನುಡಿಸುವಾಗ ವಾದ್ಯದ ಸಾಕಷ್ಟು ಸಾಧ್ಯತೆಗಳನ್ನು ಬಳಸದೆ ಇರಬೆಕಾಗಬಹುದು. ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರೀಯ ಸಂಗೀತದ ವಿಚಾರದಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ಮಾತು ಇನ್ನೂ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಪ್ರಸ್ತುತ.
‘ಹಾರ್ಮೋನಿಯಂ’ ನಲ್ಲಿನ ಸಾಧ್ಯತೆಗಳನ್ನು ಕಂಡುಕೊಂಡು , ವಾದ್ಯಧರ್ಮಕ್ಕನುಸಾರವಾಗಿ ವಾದನದ ವಿಸ್ತರಣೆಯ ವಿನಮ್ರ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನ ಇಲ್ಲಿದೆ. ಮೂಲತಃ ಹಾರ್ಮನಿ ತತ್ವಾಧಾರಿತ ಹಾರ್ಮೋನಿಯಂ ವಾದನದಲ್ಲಿ, ಎರಡೂ ಕೈಗಳ ಉಪಯೋಗ, Arpeggio , vamping, contras, ಇತ್ಯಾದಿಗಳಿಂದ ಕೂಡಿದ ಕೃತಿಗಳನ್ನು ಪ್ರಸ್ತುತಪದಿಸಲಾಗುವದು. ಇದರಲ್ಲಿ ಮೂರು ಹಾರ್ಮೋನಿಯಂ ಗಳು ಹಾಗು ಒಂದು leg harmonium ನ ಸಮಾವೆಶವಿದೆ. ನುಡಿಸುವ ಸ್ವರಪುಂಜಗಳಿಂದಲೇ ಲಯದ ಧಾರಣೆ ಮಾಡಿ ಸಂಗೀತ ಮುಂದುವರೆಯುವದು. ಯಾವುದೇ ಲಯವಾದ್ಯವನ್ನು ಉಪಯೋಗಿಸದ ಈ ಪರಿಕಲ್ಪನೆಯ ಹೆಸರು,’ಅನಾಹತ’.
ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಸ್ತುತ ಪಡಿಸುವ ಸಂಗೀತ ಯಾವುದೇ ಸೀಮಿತ ಚೌಕಟ್ಟಿಗೆ ಒಳಪಟ್ಟದ್ದಲ್ಲ . ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರೀಯವಂತೂ ಅಲ್ಲವೇ ಅಲ್ಲ. ಇಲ್ಲಿ ವಾದನದ ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಬಿಂದು -‘ರಸ’ ಮತ್ತು ‘ಭಾವಾಭಿವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ’.
ನಮ್ಮ ತಿಳುವಳಿಕೆಯ ಮಿತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹೊಮ್ಮಿದ ವಿಚಾರ-ಪರಿಕಲ್ಪನೆಗಳನ್ನು ಪ್ರಯೋಗಾತ್ಮಕವಾಗಿ ತಮ್ಮೆದುರು ಪ್ರಸ್ತುತಪಡಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದೇವೆ . ಪ್ರೀತಿಯಿಂದ ಆಲಿಸಿ, ಆನಂದಪಡಿರಿ. ಇದರಲ್ಲಿ ಹಲವು ಲೋಪಗಳೂ ಇರಬಹುದು. ತಮ್ಮ ಮುಕ್ತ ಅನಿಸಿಕೆಗಳನ್ನು ನಮ್ಮೊಂದಿಗೆ ಹಂಚಿಕೊಳ್ಳಿ . ಮುಂಬರುವ ದಿನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಇನ್ನೂ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ನಿಖರತೆ, ಪಕ್ವತೆಗಳೊಂದಿಗೆ ತಮ್ಮೆದುರು ಬರುವ ಅಭಿಲಾಷೆಯೊಂದಿಗೆ,
ತಮ್ಮವ
ರವೀಂದ್ರ ಗುರುರಾಜ್ ಕಾಟೋಟಿ
About Dr Ravindra Katoti
Born in 1969 in a family of Music lovers in Belgaum , Dr Ravindra started practicing music at the age of eight . The blessings and guidance of his Guru legend Lt Pandit Rambhau Bijapure , and his patience, efforts and dedication made him a very versatile Harmonium player. He has been an excellent solo harmonium player and accompanied the legends and the best in the Indian classical music. As a fine and creative composer he has many albums under his belt . He is the founder of BIJAPURE HARMONIUM FOUNDATION in Bangalore which promotes harmonium and organizes number of activities such as concerts, annual events, promotions all over the country.
