Queens University (Charlotte) Music Department & Friends of Music at Queens will host an evening of Indian classical music featuring a lecture by Pandit Divyang Vakil, a maestro of Indian classical music and the tabla, followed by a high-energy performance by the ensemble Tabla Ecstasy on March 27, 2010.
“The Indian community in Charlotte has been growing dramatically over the last decade. As the multicultural community grows, it is important to learn and share our culture and values with each other. We are not only planning to use this event for the education of our own students, but also as part of a communitywide effort to educate ourselves about our neighbors,” says Queens Professor Connie Rhyne-Bray.
The tabla is considered one of the most difficult percussion instruments in the world. Tabla has an immense following around the world and is making its way more and more into mainstream music such as rap, R&B and world music groups. The concert will showcase the power of pure tabla playing as the players perform fast-paced compositions in perfect synchronization and harmony.
“Tabla is often seen as an accompanying instrument in Indian music. In that role, it is hard for the audience to feel the full power and depth of this drum,” explains Rushi Vakil, one of the members of the tabla ensemble. “In Tabla Ecstasy, tabla takes the center stage, while the accompanying instrument keeps the melodic rhythmic cycle. Through the performance, you’ll see the various shades of this instrument. It will be light and fun at time, serious and intense at other points. That is the beauty of this instrument. It has its own language and vocabulary.”
The event is not just a chance to hear a new generation of tabla players, but a chance to learn about the music and culture from a master. Pandit Divyang Vakil, who is the composer of Tabla Ecstasy and a renowned tabla teacher, will be giving a talk on Indian music before the concert performance.
As a tabla Guru, Pandit Vakil’s experience of over 30 years as a guru has produced numerous professionals in the world of Indian and International music. His students exist all over the world, running their own institutions in places such as Australia, Europe, Korea and the UK.
In the early 90’s, he was pulled between his teaching career, performing career and spiritual pursuits. Seeing the demise of rigorous training that he, his contemporaries and elder generations of musicians had undertaken, he gave up his performing career to dedicate himself solely to teaching, the development of his students and his spiritual commitments.
He teaches the latest and modern styles of tabla playing as well as the classical and traditional methods. His students produce a harmonious compilation of modern and classical aspects of Indian classical music. They don’t only learn the commercial and popular form of tabla but also distinguish spiritual aspects of it.
As a spiritual guru and healer, he does not belong to any tradition and seeks to provide a balanced and unbiased perspective to his students. He travels around the world guiding his students in their spiritual growth, improving the lives of many through healing and sharing knowledge about spirituality and philosophy through lectures and workshops.
An interview with Pandit Divyang Vakil.
How did you become a tabla player and then guru and teacher?
My father was the biggest inspiration for me. He was not a professional musician, but he sang and played tabla, dholak and harmonium. My first memories are with tabla, I perhaps started playing around the age of 2.5 years. Thirty years ago, it was very difficult for an Indian classical musician to make a living from only performances, without making many compromises, which I was not ready to do. So I began teaching, initially for a supplemental income, but I soon realized that I was very good at it, which is not surprising as both of my parents were teachers. My mother was a principal and worked with Maria Montessori, while my father was involved in law and taught philosophy. For many years, I was a performer and teacher. But I found that in running after performances and entertaining the audience, I was not able to grow as much as I wanted in terms of my learning. Also when I would go away for performances, my students would be waiting for me here. Eventually the pull between performances, teaching and my spiritual pursuits led me to make the decision to stop performing and focus on teaching and spiritual activities.
How do you use music to teach people or to help them heal?
Music is one the best healing systems. Every raag and rhythm has its own effect. Different combinations of raag and rhythm have very peculiar effects on human mind. I do use music in healing, but it is not the only tool. Music works well if the patient has a liking for it.
Talk a little about the ensemble Tabla Ecstasy. Are they your students or graduates?
Tabla Ecstasy is actually the latest in a series of tabla ensembles that I have composed, including Power of Tabla, Ardha Taal Chakra (which is a very difficult half-beat cycle composition), Tabla Taandav, etc. The concept of these tabla ensembles actually came out of a desire and need to take classical tabla to the masses. The young generation and those who don’t listen to Indian classical music have difficulty following or enjoying all types of classical tabla solos. After experimenting with presentation and composition styles, we have found that these ensembles work really well and they have been appreciated by all types of audiences. The foundation is classical, but the presentation style is contemporary. The members of Tabla Ecstasy are artists who have been learning from me for 10 to 20 years each. They all perform professionally, but the expanse of Indian music is endless. They have learned a lot and many even teach at my institute in India, but there is much more that they can learn, so they continue to train under me alongside their professional career.
Are there other instruments accompanying or is this strictly a percussion performance?
Tabla is the main instrument in Tabla Ecstasy. However, as is the practice in Indian classical music, the tabla players are accompanied by a lehera player on the harmonium, saarangi or any melodic instrument. The lehera player keeps the melodic time cycle.
Will you perform along with the ensemble or as a solo?
No, I gave up performing over a decade ago, but I am the producer, director and composer of the ensemble.
What will you be covering in your lecture before the performance?
I will be speaking about the connection between spirituality and music, as well as giving some technical insight into Tabla Ecstasy and doing padhant (oral recitation) of some rare compositions.
You talk of spiritual healing? Briefly what do you mean by this.
Any problem that a human has can be handled in the spirit level. Everything - matter, thoughts, problems - in its higher level or occult level has a vibrational form. We have various tools to understand life and behavior, like psychology, astrology, palmistry, face reading, etc. In spiritual healing, I combine these faculties with techniques that work on the occult level, like the force of positive vibrations and mantras to help people come out of their difficulties.
Pandit Divyang Vakil will give a lecture and Tabla Ecstasy will perform at Dana Auditorium, Queens University of Charlotte on Saturday, March 27, 2010. Lecture 7pm, Concert 8pm. Tickets are $10. For more information, visit www.queens.edu or call 704-337-2213. Find writings by Pandit Divyang Vakil on his blog - divyangvakil.wordpress.com or www.divyangvakil.com. To preview the group, visit www.myspace.com/tablafusion.
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