RANJANI GOVIND

This flautist is always up to experimenting, be it with his bamboo versions of the instrument or the way he dishes up a melodic fare. Pravin Godkhindi, son of vocalist, flautist and harmonium player Venkatesh Godkhindi, is amongst the well-known flautists of Karnataka not just recognized for his classical Hindustani renderings but for being equally at ease in fusion presentations at global platforms.

In 2015 Pravin was amongst the rare lot of Indian musicians to play on the largest flute, Contrabass, when he took on the instrument with classical ragas, and demonstrated how it can be used for different genres of music. Devising newer techniques, he showcased the glides and gamakas integral to the Indian classical genres on the instrument referred to as the “gentle giant of the flute family.”

And what is he offering this year, especially at a time when people have been staying indoors due to the lockdown? Pravin did not want to mutely be part of the home-bound, helplessly experiencing the effects of the pandemic. “Last year, July 2020, I set sail a music appreciation-raga series, as I wanted to do something useful to people through melody. This is apart from the online teaching sessions that are regularly in progress,” says Pravin on phone.

The flautist worked out a soothing raga series ‘Healing through #raagatainment #101ragas’ to help people not just get familiarized with melodic scales, but experience the comforting effects on their mind and soul. “I knew that anxious minds will enjoy these presentations as melody brings peace within. It’s a sphere where one can take their mind off all problems even while going through pain and suffering,” says Pravin who chartered a list of 101 ragas to be shared in a year with music connoisseurs, twice a week. “I started this series on July 13, 2020 and have been performing on Monday and Thursday. I can proudly say that I have not missed a single episode in these 50 weeks in spite of myself having turned positive to Covid-19 in April this year. My steely nerve had the melody going digital, week after week. The 100th episode on June 24 is a special one where several other eminent artists will also be part of this exclusive episode (facebook live, 7pm) to discuss ragas and their deeper influences on mind,” says Pravin.

For Pravin it has been a long journey of 12 months of handling the series. “I also wanted to educate the younger generation about the rich classical music heritage India is blessed with. Some of the participants in my 100^th episode will be part of a casual chat along with their small performances. They include vocalist Pt. Venkatesh Kumar, sarod master Pt. Tejendra Mazumdar, percussionist Ustad Taufiq Quereshi, Vainika Jayanthi and violinist Kumaresh, flautist Shashank Subramanyam, Santoor specialist Pt. Tarun Bhattacharya, Tabla exponent Subhankar Banerjee, vocalist Jayteerth Mevundi, Sitar Purbayan Chatterjee and vocalist Durga Jasraj,” says Pravin.

And what about his 100^th raga? “It’s a milestone created for ‘raagatainment #101ragas’ and I am taking up my father Venkatesh Godkhindi’s creation ‘Sanjog’ as a commemoration to him. ‘Sanjog’ is a combination of the scales Rageshri and Malkauns with lilting elements of Jog sprinkled in it. It would be lovely to have each of the 11 well-known guest artistes have a take on ‘Sanjog’ along with their other favourite ragas too,” says Pravin.

Why the whole exercise seemed a motivation for Pravin is that the experimentation with ragas was a naturally evolved one, not something that was bound by rules or time-restrictions too. “To have the concentration of the young ones, I started off the series with one-minute alaaps to gauge their attention span. I started with the famous raga Hamsadwani that most can relate to. Gradually I started having good ears asking for more. I made it 20 minutes and soon had people coming up with queries and discussions stretching it to half-an-hour. Slowly I saw people getting hooked and many a time it became a 45-minutes show! This was when I realized that the diversity and multiplicity contained in the range of raga scales, common to the Carnatic-Hindustani idioms, have to be brought in,” explains Pravin.

Pravin has showcased the different kinds of Malhar, for instance. “There are different versions as Ramdasi Malhar, Sur Malhar, Meerabhai Ki Malhar. Same way in the Kaanada scale only Darbari Kaanada is popular. I wanted to expose the ingredients of Naayaki Kanada and Kounsi Kaanada,” says Pravin.

But what made this serpentine melodic series popular, and going on with encores were also his scrupulous inclusions of ragas that were common to Carnatic and Hindustani genres as Abhogi, Hemavathi, Vachaspati and Vasantha. “For commemorating the 50^th Episode a few months ago, I had taken up Pahadi, and I had an unbelievable 50,000 plus views from all over the world. It was amazing,” says Pravin, looking forward to the 100^th episode. “You can join me on Facebook live at 7pm on June 24, 2021, to celebrate this unique milestone,” says Pravin, adding that all the 101 ragas will be available on pravingodkhindiofficial handle on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram for people to make use of. (www.pravingodkhindi.com)