Meeting Sumitra Guha

by The Balloon

The India Tube continues its exploration of the fascinating world of Indian classical music. After talking and listening to the Gundecha Brother, who introduced us to Dhrupad, here is our conversation with Vidushi Sumitra Guha, Hindustani and Carnatic classical singer.

Sumitra Guha has been learning and practising Indian classical music since 1964, and her training has been focused first on Carnatic music - which she learned from her mother - and then on Hindustani music - which she began studying after she joined Shantiniketan as a philosophy student.

Mrs. Guha's performances unite technical mastery with a unique quality of voice, and her compositions (for which writes both lyrics and music) have a strong spiritual component.

Sumitra Guha has been awarded several gold medals and prizes, and she frequently performs, both in India and abroad, in some of most important musical conferences.

Here's what she had to share with us about her music, its peculiarities and its meaning.

What is the characteristic of your music?

In India there are two main types of music, Hindustani and Carnatic: they both come from the same origin, but Hindustani music has been enriched with the influence of other forms of music, like Arabic and Persian, that came to North India with the different invasions.

Initially I was trained in Carnatic style, then I went to Visva-Bharati University, Shantiniketan and there I had the chance of listening to great Hindustani musicians, so I decided to learn that style of music as well.

The style of music I sing is called Khayal, which means "imagination". There is a melody and its structure has to be followed strictly, but within its boundaries the singer can use some "imagination" and there is a lot of freedom for improvisation, which means every performance is completely unique and can't be repeated.

In my own compositions I especially emphasize two components: melody and spirituality. There is a spiritual component to all Indian classical music, but I accentuate it, giving more importance to the lyrics, that traditionally didn't use to have much importance. I like to write my own lyrics, and though I am not a writer, I try to convey my feelings in a more powerful way.

Do you think it's easier for people of Hindu religion to understand Indian classical music?

Not necessarily. Indian classical music is associated with Hindu religion and religious ceremonies, but it's not religious, because sound is omnipotent, sound is everywhere, and it can't belong to any religion. For instance, Indian classical music is very popular in Pakistan and Bangladesh, which are Muslim countries.

Spirituality, on the other hand, is fundamental in Indian classical music.

Indian music originated from the primordial sound "Om", and our musical scale, Sa-Re-Ga-Ma-Pa-Dha-Ni-Sa is made of sounds coming from some animals. Great yogis and saint persons organized those sounds and put together and made melodies. Indian classical music is always associated with the Gods and the creation, and the very first raga is believed to have come by Lord Shiva himself.

This is why our music is not simply entertainment for the mind, but it's entertainment for the soul: we call it Nadopasana, which means that music is one of the ways through which you realize yourself and you get in contact with the ultimate.

How did you begin your career as a singer?

I come from a "musical family"; my mother was a singer and I learnt from her first. In fact, she says I sang even before I spoke: I was maybe one and a half years old the first time I copied my mother's singing. She sang a tune, and I repeated it exactly: that's when my family first thought I was going to head towards a career in music.

Is it difficult to pursue a music career as a woman?

It is very difficult. It is very hard to manage career and family at the same time. In India we believe the first priority for a woman is to be dutiful: I was part of a big joint family, and I wanted everyone - my husband, my in-laws, my children - to be happy. It's not easy to conciliate everything.

If you aim to be present for your family you need to make a lot of compromises but I was lucky to have a husband who gave me constant, unconditional support until the last day of his life. That was essential, because it made me able to overcome all the difficulties: I wouldn't have been able to pursue my career otherwise. That same support is what I find now in my sons and my daughters-in-low.

What in your music comes from training and what comes from your personal sensibility?

The technique, the way I sing - faster, slower - and those sort of elements come from learning and are transferred from the teacher to the student. But once you have the technique, you develop your own stile, which is completely unique. There always will be an influence of your guru in your style, but each performer has an individuality that comes with practice and dedication.

How has the profession of the classical musician changed with time?

It has changed a lot. In the old days Rajas and Maharajas use to patronize and help musicians, but now patrons don’t support musical careers anymore. Musicians need to do everything by themselves and it's very difficult. Music is no instant coffee: it takes sacrifice and a lot of patience.

I think nowadays there are less people, who learn music in the traditional way, and many prefer easier shortcuts, but there are luckily still a few young musicians who choose to learn and performance in a purely traditional way.

You perform quite frequently in the West. What, in your opinion, attracts Westerners to Indian classical music?

I think that we have a sort of creativity and improvisation in Indian Classical Music that's quite unique, and a foreign audience finds that very interesting.

Also, people abroad are usually touched by the compositions, once I explain it to them. Once I sang one melody in which a mother expresses her love for her child and she asks him to go home soon because it’s raining and dark outside. After the performance, when I explained the meaning of the composition, a lady came to me crying: she told me that she hadn't seen her child who was in boarding school for the past year, and the music made her miss him terribly.

You might have to explain its meaning, but Indian classical music really touches the heart of people, everywhere.

Is there someone you would like to collaborate with in the future, even outside the world of Indian classical music?

I'd like to work with Fred Selden, because we know each other work and I think collaboration would be quite interesting.