Being a part of band Shakti is a learning experience for me: V Selvaganesh
The kanjira maestro on what it means to be part of a band whose music he grew up listening, the responsibility he feels to promote the kanjira and his favourite cities to perform in
2024 will go down as a special year for kanjira exponent V. Selvaganesh. In February, Shakti, the (regrouped) world music band he’s a member of – along with John McLaughlin, Zakir Hussain, Shankar Mahadevan and Ganesh Rajagopalan – won the Grammy for Best Global Music Album for their album, This Moment. This was the first Grammy win for the band for the first studio album they’ve released in 46 years. There were some memorable concerts - at NMACC and the Mahindra Percussion Festival – that saw him perform along with his father, ghatam maestro Vikku Vinayakram, his brother V Umashankar, and son Swaminathan Selvaganesh as part of the family ensemble, Ghatam Symphony. As the year draws to close, Selvaganesh's keeping the good vibes flowing by performing at Bandland 2024, an all-out rock music festival organised by Bookmyshow Live.
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“I know that Bandland is a rock music festival and everyone must be wondering what a classical musician like me is going to do there. That is the challenge, but my son (Swaminathan Selvaganesh) and I have created some electronic stuff that we’ll be trying out there. I am really excited about it," says the 57-year-old Carnatic percussionist. In this email interview with Lounge ahead of the concert, he also speaks about his “big responsibility" to make kanjira more popular, the cities he likes to perform in and that one time he had to borrow a kurta from band member and mentor, Ustad Zakir Hussain. Edited excerpts:
You are a part of Shakti, which can easily be counted as one of the best World Music ensembles. Would you say winning the Grammy this year was the best validation of that?
As a member of Shakti, winning the Grammy made me so happy. My father, who was a founding member of the band when it first formed in 1973, would return from tours with cassettes of the live music he’d recorded at their performances/shows. He’d play these cassettes at home and so, as a kid, it was Shakti’s music that I always heard. 50 years later, the band’s Grammy win for a global music album feels so well-deserved; especially when I have seen John ji, Zakir bhai, Shankar ji and dad work so hard for it.
How would you describe your experience of being a member of Shakti?
Every time I am with the band – be it for practice, playing a concert or studio recording – I feel like it’s a learning process for me, especially when I am around John ji and Zakir bhai. With them, I realise that there’s a lot more for me to learn, and I am still finding my way.
You've taken an instrument like the kanjira to the big stages of the world. Now, do you view it as your responsibility to make the instrument more popular?
Kanjira is my life, it's my everything. The instrument has given me so much in life, so now, it’s time for me to give back to it. To answer your question, yes, I view it as a big responsibility of mine to take the instrument further, in terms of popularity and accessibility. One achievement in this regard is that I got the American (percussion innovation and design) company Remo to craft a traditional kanjira based on my design.
You are constantly travelling for concerts. What are the pluses and minuses of this aspect of your life?
I think traveling the world to perform is always a plus. There are absolutely no negatives here because you are constantly learning, you get to meet new people, and you get to live your music with the audience. My dad always says that each concert you perform at – be it in Chennai, Mumbai, New York or someplace in Europe – is an exam, because every concert teaches you to understand the vibe of the audience and to play accordingly. This helps you to constantly hone your craft.
What are some of your favourite concert venues?
It's very tough to select venues because I believe that every platform or every stage one performs on should be a favourite. That said, I can talk about my favourite cities to perform in. In India, Pune and Bengaluru are my favourites because the audience vibe I get there is different. Among international venues, Germany and New York, in the US are top picks.
Any funny anecdotes you can share of a concert trip that went wrong?
I recall this one time, in 2016, when I had to travel to Brazil to perform with Zakir bhai for the Masters of Percussion concert. Pakhawaj player Bhavani Shankar ji and I had to take a long flight from Chennai to Brazil with transits in Frankfurt and New York. We reached Brazil safely, as did our instruments, but our suitcases didn't arrive. We were told the baggage would arrive a day later but the day of the concert arrived and there was nothing to wear! Zakir bhai lent me one of his kurtas, it was long and tight for me (laughs), but we performed the concert and left for India. And guess what? The luggage reached home a week after I'd reached Chennai. I am just glad our instruments didn't get lost. Now, when I look back, I laugh thinking about this.
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