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COVER STORY

RAMESH VINAYAKAM interviews V.S. NARASIMHAN.

“Is it true? Is it true?” asked a senior musician from the film industry during a chance meeting in a concert.Is what true? That V.S. Narasimhan has agreed to be interviewed? Yes.

No wonder the musician was surprised. Such is the legendary taciturnity of V.S. Narasimhan.

People in the film industry have only seen him take his customary seat in the first row of the violin section, warming up before a session or with his headphones on, listening in quiet contemplation. He could be listening to a Bach, a Tyagaraja, a Stephane Grappelli. No one can tell.

Tall, lanky, quiet and shy, Narasimhan stylishly sports a beard greyed by wisdom and knowledge that he doesn’t flaunt. With his poetic eyes, long sharp nose and

INTERVIEW

“I dream of the day when the best symphony orchestras play Carnatic raga-s.”

The Madras String Quartet: Narasimhan, Hemanth, Chandru and Sekar

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14 l SRUTI June 2010

COVER STORY

disarming smile, his face is so serene; a perfect model for an artist to paint a saint.

The introvert however opened up during this interaction and in a rare instance even broke down into tears while talking about the greatness of Carnatic music.

RV: Did you ever realise that your initials VS stand for Violin Solo?VSN: No, not at all, but I am delighted to know that now.

Who are the Carnatic violinists you love listening to?

I have great respect for T.N. Krishnan, M.S. Gopala-krishnan, Lalgudi Jayaraman and Mysore Nagaraj. I am most impressed by TNK’s music. His manodharma anchored in strict adherence to the roots of Carnatic tradition is what I like most in TNK’s playing. His posture is very stylish and lovely even to look at. His bowing technique is excellent. MSG’s inimitable technique, perfect intonation and beautiful sound bowl me over. I marvel at Lalgudi’s swara patterns and rhythmic perfection.

Who are the idols who influenced you in Western music?

I am a great admirer of Itzhak Perlman and Maxim. It was a great honour for me to meet Vengerov and shake hands with him. He is an incredible player, epitomising the ultimate perfection that a human can ever aim to achieve. To me, he is a living God.

Apart from the Carnatic and the Western classical styles, you have also acquired mastery over Hindustani classical. Did you have proper training in Hindustani too?

I hear a good deal of Hindustani music and have imbibed a lot by listening to the great masters. As a session musician you are expected to be ready to play different styles. I have great regard for Dr. N. Rajam. Her technique really astounds me.

What did film music give you? What did you give film music?

Film music gave me the exposure to different genres of music of the world, which has been a great blessing. It opened my mind to the universality of music, of which I am more than convinced. As regards the second part I can’t say much. (Laughs). Maybe my attempt to play Carnatic music in Western tuning and the technique that I have evolved may become significant in due course.

Do you think Carnatic rasika-s should listen to Western music too?

Yes, people should shed their prejudice and develop a taste for good music and not worry about where it comes from. This would apply to a Western listener as well.

Do you think that an ardent rasika’s knowledge of Carnatic music can itself become an impediment to understanding Western music?

It would be an impediment if the person were not open minded; otherwise it should actually help!

The Western music world perceives that any music devoid of harmony is not evolved and that it is primitive. The Carnatic music world holds a similar opinion of Western music for the reason that it is not raga based.

Both are wrong. It is only that these systems have evolved taking different directions. Each is unique and beautiful in its own way. We must enter inside, acquire knowledge and then comment objectively. We can’t pass judgement looking from far away. We have to, of course, understand that there can be music without the concept of raga-s. Raga-s are but one of the beautiful aspects of music. The Westerners too have to realise that it is wrong to hold that only their music is evolved and that all others are not. If a mere fragment of music can denote a raga unambiguously, you can only wonder how extensively and extraordinarily Carnatic music has evolved.