Playing against boundaries

Female musicians in Mumbai will break the norms and play instruments traditionally played by men at the Saz-e-Bahar festival

It was all right for a female practitioner to play the sitar well, Anupama Bhagwat heard a member of the audience remark after a recital, but how long will she sustain in the field? The answer in Bhagwat's case is at least 25 years. The sitar exponent has regularly heard such questions about whether women, with family responsibilities, can travel and perform. It only made her more committed, says the artiste who has toured several countries and played on radio in India and overseas. Such success in the face of doubt will be showcased at Saz-e-Bahar, a festival of Indian instrumental music by the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) in Mumbai.

Bhagwat and three other musicians, all women but, more importantly, first-rate performers, will participate in the two-day event. The idea of the festival is also to promote the style of individual instruments rather than presenting them as mere accompaniments to vocal talent. This edition features string and percussion instruments. It will include Rimpa Siva on the tabla, Dhaka-based Rajrupa Chowdhury on the sarod and Sangeeta Shankar on the violin. "People often judge women musicians differently. This has to change," says Suvarnalata Rao, vertical head for music programming at NCPA.

Despite such biases, most misconceptions are being dispelled. For instance, the perception earlier was that women lacked the strength required to strike the animal-hide surface of the tabla. Siva has excelled at it for years. The late Aban Mistry and Anuradha Pal famously did it before her. Siva, who was trained by her father Swapan Siva starting at age three, belongs to the Farukkhabad gharana. As a 12-year-old, she became the subject of a French documentary which gave her the title "princess of tabla". Siva says the scene is already vibrant and more women are taking to the previously male-dominated bastion of percussion instruments.

Naturally, mentors have played an important role in shaping the approach of these musicians. Bhagwat's guru, the late Bimalendu Mukherjee of the Imdadkhani gharana, trained her to put mind over body. "There is a perception that physical strength is needed in sitar-playing to generate speed, so women may not be as comfortable with it," says the artist. "But my guru taught me to rely on technique rather than strength for speed."

Showcasing the style of another plucked string instrument, the sarod, will be Chowdhury. Now based in Dhaka, she is trained in the Shahjahanpur gharana, which combines bold strumming with subtle ragas. For violinist Shankar, the art is a family tradition. Skills have been passed on for seven generations that include Shankar's mother, N Rajam, and her daughters, Ragini and Nandini. They are allowed the freedom to decide if they want to go professional, says Shankar. She will be accompanied by Nandini for the Hindustani classical performance at NCPA.

There are advantages to being a woman instrumentalist too. Bhagwat quotes her guru who felt women had the opportunity to bring something unique to a piece. "Music is eventually about self-expression. Motherhood is an experience available only to women. Men can never tap into that emotion."

Saz-e-Bahar will be hosted on April 10 and 11 at 6.30 pm at the Godrej Dance Academy Theatre, NCPA, Mumbai