9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
Ustad Bahauddin Dagar: At 16, I saw timelessness in music
Growing up, the little Bahauddin saw his mother teach sitar every day and his uncle indulge in jazz. 'Once, American jazz musician Don Cherry came home as well. It was my uncle who exposed me to new genres; in no time, I was listening to Boney M, Madonna, hard rock, and metal. I even had a keen interest in painting and considered pursuing Fine Arts. But at 16, something changed,' he reveals. What was that turning point? The maestro recalls, 'Well, I played the tanpura behind my father at The Festival of India tour in 1986. Suddenly, my eyes and ears opened to the nuances of music…it was marvellous. I saw a timelessness in it.' Thereafter, he devoted his days to music.
But he started learning the Rudra Veena, which is second nature to him today, after his father passed away in 1990. 'This instrument requires undivided attention. Family and friends become secondary. And I do not regret my decision at all,' he states.
In a line of work that requires, by and large, hours of riyaaz (practice), steely focus, and perfection, Ustad Bahauddin confesses that he makes mistakes — and is not embarrassed. 'So what? It is not an examination. Making a mistake is when I am doing something new!'
And embodying the 'new' is what this maestro solemnly stands by. 'When I was younger, people would chide me, saying I wasn't as good as my father. I wasn't hurt, no; rather, the fire in my belly prodded me to be better and new. If I am just like my father, what will be special about me?' he asks.
