Gargee Siddhant Dutta is one of the most promising Hindustani Classical singers of today's young breed of singers. A disciple of Sangeet Markand Pandit Jasraj of Mewati Gharana since the past ten years talks to Nisha Chainani about the release of her new album title Astral Journey and about her predestined life as a classical singer.

A young girl from Assam is one of today's most exciting young classical singers. How did that happen?

It's true, I was born in Assam and that's where I went to school and college, but my primary education since the age of five has been in classical music. My grandfather was a music composer, who passed on some of his teachings to my father who is a very keen amateur musician, who in turn too passed on this musical heritage to me. In fact, for all my concerts my father plays the tabla with me and my mother the harmonium.

Are you the only child?

No. I have an older sister, but she's not a musician. As we were growing up my sister was always very academically inclined so my parents encouraged that part of her. I on the other hand was more musically inclined so my parents encouraged that part of me. Everyday since the time I can remember there has been music in my home. Everyday since the time I can remember I have been doing my riyaz, with a lot of pushing and encouraging from my parents. And apart from my studies, my childhood has been a very disciplined one. I didn't have the liberty to live a carefree life like all the other children. But it was because my parents saw the potential in me to be a singer that they made such a conscience effort to train me in the right way from the beginning to be a singer. And eventually I also grew up with only one thought - that I was going to be a singer and nothing else.

Why didn't your father become a professional musician?

He didn't become a professional because it wasn't economical too. To make a living as a musician in a small town like Assam was not the most practical thing to do. He, instead, became a professor of literature, a respectable job with a steady income, and to satisfy his musical urges he continued to play music at home, and train me in the hope of my becoming a singer one day. But it wasn't a mere interest or ambition with my parents; it was a passion for them. Like I said, every evening there was music and discussions and different thoughts being exchanged on the various aspects of music from the time I can begin to remember.

What happened next?

Next, in 1979, I was 10 years old when I applied for the Government based National Cultural Talent Search Scholarship. I was invited to come for an interview a Guwahati and then another one before they accepted and granted me with the scholarship. That's when I came under the training and influence of the late B.K.Phukan a reputed musician and musicologist and thus began my systematic training in Hindustani Classical Music.

How did you come into contact with Sangeet Markand Pandit Jasraj?

I came into contact with Pandit Jasraj in 1988 when he had come to Assam for a concert. Then very respectfully I introduced myself to him and very cordially invited him to my home where he met with my family and he heard me sing and he was very happy with what he had heard. Then I asked him if he would be willing to be my teacher, he said that he had no objections provided that I ask my teacher to give me away to me. And he also said that my teacher's mere compliance was not enough, it should be with all his best wishes and his blessings. Otherwise, I would not be fruitful in my endeavors and that I would never progress. So, I went to my Guruji B.K.Phukan and asked him if I could begin my training with Pandit Jasrajji and with all the warmth and blessings he said that he would be very happy if Jasrajji would take me on as one of his disciples and he wished the very best for me. This I told Jasrajji and so like that I made my first visit to Bombay. But I came and went back. Then I came and stayed on with Jasrajji and his family in his home for the next ten years. They all accepted me very graciously and treated me with a lot of warmth and support, otherwise, it's not easy to leave your home, your family and live with new people in a foreign city like Bombay on your own. So for the next ten years I lived with him and toured with him.

What is he like?

He's a very special man. He's incredibly patient when it comes to teaching but incredibly moody when he was on stage in a concert. It was very hard and very challenging to gage his moods and then adapt oneself according to them. I mean if he was in a good mood he would praise you on stage in front of everyone, but if he wasn't in such a good mood and you happen to make a mistake he wouldn't hesitate to scold you off either on stage in front of everyone. But other then that he kept all us with a tremendous amount of respect, affection, protection and care. He toured a lot and I have had to privilege of being his vocal support for such prestigious conferences as the Haridas Sangeet Samaroh in Vridaban, the Sawai Gandharv in Poona, the Pandit Motiram Sangeet Samaroh in Hyderabad, the Sankat Mochan Samaroh in Varanasi and the Dover Lane Sangeet Samaroh in Calcutta.

Do you enjoy doing concerts?

Yes I do but what I enjoy most are small home gatherings. Because when you're on stage the audience's sits there in pin drop silence until you've finished and then they applaud, and for those seven to ten minutes while your singing you don't have a clue as to what's going on in their minds, until of course you finish your piece and they start clapping and that when you know you've done all right. In small house gathering you can see on their faces the kind of mood you're creating immediately and that kind of appreciation really sets the mood also for the performer, all the time encouraging him or her to put more soul into the music.

Is it important to have a classical base if one wants to sing for films?

Not at all, because they are both are so different. The styles are different, the emphasis on certain words are different, the modulation of the voice are all very different, but the process and preparation of training the voice is the same and very essential for singing, whether it be classical or film or anything else. Anyone who can speak sing, but there will always remain the difference between amateur singers, those who sing for pleasure, and a trained singer, with a trained voice. This difference will always show, and it has nothing to do with having a classical background or not, it's the question of how you train your voice.

Have you ever considered singing for films?

I'd love too but only if it's classical based, because that's really what I'm best at. I would never be able to give justice to the filmi songs, so to say, because my whole style of singing is classical and somewhere or the other that accent or classical flavour is not going to leave me.

Classical music has it's own limited audience, would you care to comment?

To appreciate classical music one has to acquire a certain taste for it. It is not something that one has to understand, like a lot of people say that they don't understand classical music, it's something that you've either already acquired a taste for or you have to develop a taste for it. Therefore, it is not something that one must necessarily understand. So those who have not been exposed too much classical music, or never lived in an environment where classical music has been appreciated, are those who have to make an extra effort to develop a taste for it. And one can do so by first listening to a few varieties of instrumental recitals everyday, then graduating to vocals, going to concerts and so on. But an effort and an open attitude has to be there to enjoy such kind of music if one hasn't had much exposure to it in the past that much is certain.

Is being a classical music singer a lucrative profession?

It can be if you reach a certain level of talent, appeal and luck. But like everything else it's not easy to make a living as a classical singer. Then again those who learn this sadhana don't enter into it to make money. Those who make money out of this do so by pure coincidence and luck, but there is really no desire to do this for money.

What on the agenda these days? 

Well, I sing regularly for Doordarshan and All India Radio. I just did a concert here in Bombay and will be doing another one in Poona soon. Because I'm married now I prefer not to do too many concerts that keep me away from home. I just recorded for this new album The Astral Journey but principally everyday I teach. I have a hand full of selected students that I pick and choose because I don't want strain my voice too much. And my advice to all those aspiring, to be good singers, is religious to do their riyaz everyday. Because nothing will help you more then this daily exercise in voice training. It's not like in school where at the last minute you can pick up your books and cramp everything and pass with flying colours. In singing unless voice training is a part of your daily activity you can never really be good at it.