L Shankar: I always want to outperform myself

L Shankar plans to present tracks from Grammy-winning band Shakti’s albums

A powerful line-up, including Grammy winners L Shankar, Vikku Vinayakram and V Selvaganesh, is set to enthral music aficionados at the Masters of Music concert on June 16. The performance promises to blend ancient beats of classical percussion with string instruments, and has Shankar, Vinayakram, Selvaganesh, Ustad Fazal Qureshi and Swaminathan Selvaganesh take to the stage.

"We often talk about presenting classical concerts that have a complex [presentation]. We also have several songs from [the Grammy-winning band] Shakti's original three albums. They are complex songs, and people love them. I have worked with [the other performers in different capacities]. So, it is going to be an energetic act. When you're working in a group, it is never about the individual. It is teamwork that dictates the energy of the act, and this is a group of amazing artistes," says Shankar.

Selvaganesh, Shankar and Vinayakram

When brought together, Shankar says they work on "listening to each other a lot" to excel as a group. "You have to keep an open mind and realise that as artistes who have [been around for so long], we have all grown with our experiences. We also want to outperform [ourselves]. If I'm doing a concert, I want it to be at least as good as the last best concert, if not better. I believe, [to excel], you need to do whatever you want to do. I have faced a lot of criticism, including when I decided to work with Shakti. But, nothing bothered me. I always did what I wanted to do. If I give my best at a concert, people will like it."

Shankar admits that spending time in the US, where there is "a lot more openness" in the music systems, has been advantageous. "In south India, the system is very closed. I mentor some leading musicians. They tell me, ‘Oh my God, if I do this, they won't give me a concert'. I say, we cannot worry about those things. People have to be free. This is what I learned while working with people like Frank Zappa. He's a legendary musician [who] followed his heart."

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Shankar, however, is quick to add that he "got very lucky" in his career. "When I went to America in 1969, they were starving for new music. Everybody knew about The Beatles because of their association with Ravi Shankar, and [with news of] George Harrison learning the sitar. I brought the flavour of Indian music, while also learning from their system. In my time, if you played at a concert, you'd only find a review of it in a local newspaper. The [neighbourhood] built very slowly.

Nowadays, somebody puts up something on YouTube and everybody knows what's going on. There is a great advantage today. In fact, people send me links of [my] shows from '79. But, in a different sense, I also had to work hard to research my material. My route to get here was harder. That helped me, because when you work hard to achieve something, that effort becomes part of your being. Whereas, I find that today, even when I teach well-known musicians, and share [a composition] with them, they ask if they can record it on an iPhone. And I refuse, because they won't develop their ears to train themselves. There was lots of greatness in the old systems."