Breaking boundaries to carve out a niche in music

Niladri Kumar is a phenomenal instrumentalist; an immensely creative artist, not afraid to experiment. Belonging to the very conservative Senia Maihar gharana, he has broken boundaries to carve out a unique niche in the music world for himself. A Shiva devotee, he is going to perform at the Achleshwar Mahadev Mandir Foundation Golden Jubilee Festival, at Dalla, near Banaras on Oct. 21 as an offering to the Lord.

Mr Niladri shared his thoughts in a chat and answered 5 quick questions.

You are associated as being the creator of the zitar. Your comments:

In 2007, I made the zitar, and it was huge, it was like a wave that encompassed everything. I didn’t see it being so big, it didn’t strike me then that for a lay person, it could be reasoned as, okay Niladri’s done classical, now he is in this new phase with his zitar. The classical music is over! For me it was never at all like that, ever. Somehow, the zitar in a way translated music that was in a language that was not understood. It was like “Geetanjali” being translated into English by Tagore himself – maybe the music I played on the zitar was like that in a way, the language of notes was the same, it was the same “meends” (transition of notes with the wire being pulled, not pressed on) but presented in a cool chic format.

The zitar created its own space in the world of music; I believe that today manufacturers are selling as many electric sitars as they are selling other sitars – to the tune of Rs 75,000-80,000 per piece! Mine is the simplest zitar actually but my version seems to be selling the most, apparently from what I hear.

How it happened was like this — I was working on the concept of making an electric sitar in 2001 while I was working on this album “If”. One day when I was in the studio , the owner and I experimented, he had a guitar from which he ripped out his pickup, which he held near my sitar and we wired it up, and the sound carried. So I eventually made an electric sitar by adding a pickup to an old sitar of my dad’s — we held it in place with Velcro. I have never been able to drill into a sitar, it’s a mental thing, I could never deface a sitar. I played a few concerts in Bombay, I used to carry around both sitars, the electric and the other.

In Delhi during one of the trips to the instrument maker in Connaught Place Rikhi Ram, I came across this small sitar that had been made for Pt. Ravi Shankar without a tumba. (Panditji was frail then, and needed to use a smaller sitar, easier to handle) My original sitar (which sadly can’t be found — someone took it) was like this, small without a tumba. In the old days, sitars were flat. I bought that small sitar off him, brought it to Bombay and the next day I wired it up. That was it, things became different after that! This was small, it looked different to a normal sitar……people loved it!

Z is an inverted S, it has an edgy feel to it.

The name resembles the zither which is like a harp, mine is zitar. Stage 2 was giving my instrument a new look, I went back to Rikhi Ram. Bishan ji was alive then and I asked him to paint it the Ferrari red. He was astounded. He said the coating will kill the sound, the wood will stop resonating. I said that’s exactly what I want. I didn’t need resonance, as it was electric! His son Ajay knew where I was coming from! Luckily I am a Science graduate so I know the law of Physics. Zitar can’t be a replacement to the sitar. This is a 5 stringed instrument, good for what it does. You can’t play a full fledged classical concert on the zitar.

Mr Niladri, they say you are the fastest instrumentalist alive today.

Speed is a relative thing. What are you measuring the “taan” speed at? What about the clarity, the strokes, the diction, the ragadaari? There are so many factors. Just being fast is no big deal!

Do you hear a lot of North Indian classical music? Is it necessary for you today?

Honestly, today I don’t hear much classical music, I go through phases, there was a time I heard a lot of classical music. Nowadays I just hear what is on the radio or television. I don’t really search for music now, if on the internet something comes up, sure I will hear it. If it’s easy listening music, it’s boring. Music doesn’t unwind me, it winds me up!! Like when I used to go for physiotherapy, they used to play classical music for me, to help me relax — I had to have it stopped!! If there is good music on, I have to listen intently. I used to have an Ustad Ali Akbar Khan cassette of Mian ki Todi, a gat going from jhaptaal into an 8 and half beat. 45 minutes each gat. I used to go on and on listening to it. I used to hear it before I slept, it was like a routine, when it got worn out and stopped playing!

What new projects are you working on? Any jugalbandis in the air?

I am working on a couple of films, I can’t reveal the names yet. On collaboration and duets, I have not really done any in the last 10-15 years, since I play the zitar, my audience gets to hear a new sound from me any way.

One jugalbandi I really miss never having done was with U. Srinivas. I grew up listening to his music, though he was slightly older than me. He was a child phenomenon, and I remember  my father first took me to hear him in Mumbai.  In 2016, U. Srinivas and I were to play a jugalbandi, suggested by Ustad Zakir Hussain Khan, but it never happened.  In July he called me (he passed away in Sept) He was so, so humble, he said I saw your Taj ad, you played so nicely, I thought I wanted to tell you that. Sorry to disturb you ji, he was so humble, so genuine! He always used to say you are hero ji, I am zero ji!! I said everybody wants to reach Shunya (zero), which you have so easily!!! It was such a shock when he passed away, what a man he was! I regret that jugalbandi never happened.

Your all time musical idol?

If I had to think of an all time musical idol, it would be my father. At different times different people have inspired me, but how to achieve what I wanted to was due to my father. He made it possible for me to achieve what I aspired to.