29 September,2011 10:39 AM IST | | Urmimala Banerjee
Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia is all set to add another feather to his cap. This time it's the Pandit Uma Dutt Sharma Lifetime Achievement Award, which will be given to him tomorrow. CS talks to him about awards, inspiration and his upcoming trip to the US:
On a high
Well, everyone loves awards and I am no different. But I don't think that I have achieved anything great in my life. Nowadays, I go to different schools to teach kids, and that gives me a sense of satisfaction. I consider myself lucky to have got quite a few lifetime achievement awards (laughs out loud). And guess what, a few universities have also conferred honorary doctorates on me. I consider myself uneducated because I have only studied till my matriculation. Students work so hard for a doctorate degree, and here I am getting a doctorate for doing nothing.
My guru, my inspiration
My guruma, Annapurna Devi is a never ending source of inspiration. She is the daughter of the legendary late Alauddin Khan of the Maihar Gharana. She always taught me to have the mentality of a boatman who sets sail without looking at the horizon in the deep ocean. I always pray to God to give her a long and healthy life. Pandit Shivkumar Sharma and I are like twin brothers. We might come across as serious people, but we do a lot of masti when we're together. I knew his father, the late Pandit Uma Dutt Sharma quite well, and was in awe of him.u00a0
US calling
I will miss the Navratri celebrations in Mumbai as I will be in the US for a month-long tour, performing in the East and West Coast. If I get free time, I will visit museums, concerts and ballets out there.
