My Date with the Flute Maestro

As they say you just can't forget your first times...be it your first kiss, your first girl friend, your first car or the day you get your first job, all these moments are unforgettable. Most of youngsters in India hate to hear classical music and term it as boring because that's what it is as I too remember those dreadful days when some stupid politician used to die and I had to miss my favorite TV shows as DD used to play classical music whole day (I guess it still happens on DD), so it has become a symbol of mourning for me. It's a fact that you just can't like something if you are forced to watch it and the blame goes to our poor old Doordarshan for giving classical music a boring tag.
But then times change and came my first live classical music concert (well it wasn't really a concert only Bansuri), though I am used to hearing instrumental music (without any knowledge of the Ragas) this experience was mind blowing. Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia has a great aura surrounding him and the thrill I experienced when he played the famous Rag Malhar cannot be explained in words. Pandit Ji started the concert with Rag Bhairavi and ended with Shivranjani Raga in which he did some amazing percussion with a smaller flute. The best part about Panjit Ji's concert besides music is the raw pleasure and perfection the great man puts in his performance. He has made me a fan of classical music (only instrumentals) and the next man I would like to hear live is Ustad Zakir Hussain as Tabla happens to be my favorite.