Jalandhar, January 1, 2005
The Tribume
This NRI teenager taps magic with his fingers. Minna Zutshi chats
up Rohan Bhogal, the youngest artiste at the recently held Harballabh
Sangeet Sammelan in Jalandhar.
Hot, peppy numbers may well be passé. At least for Master
Rohan Bhogal, the youngest performer at the 129th Shree Baba Harballabh
Sangeet Sammelan, a musical festival with the unbroken tradition
of being organised annually at Jalandhar for the past 128 years.
The 15-year-old youngster was born and brought up in the Canadian
city of Edmonton. But it was the very Indian sound of tabla that
fascinated him, even when he could barely understand the finer
nuances of music. "Tabla beats have a rhythm that taps at
your heart. You can work magic with your fingers and create enthralling
music," he says, flicking his fingers as if pattering on
a tabla.
The snow-smooched mornings of Edmonton have him practice diligently
for hours together on tabla. The vigorous beat of tabla breaks
the morning stillness for this youngster, who has been a pupil
of Ustad Zakir Hussain since the age of eight. "I go to San
Francisco every summer to study tabla under Ustad Hussain,"
he says, with a touch of pride.
Though his visits to India have been few yet he finds Indian
culture rich and varied enough to merit "spontaneous admiration".
"It’s a rare honour to be given an opportunity to perform
at Harballabh Sangeet Sammelan, where maestros give their performances,"
he tells us.
Reams may have been written about the Indian diaspora, but he
dismisses all talk about "alienation, identity crisis and
discrimination" as something which does not impinge on his
music. "I think people in Canada are open to exploring different
cultures. And music, no matter from which culture, automatically
touches your heart. You may not understand the intricacies of
music, but you cannot remain uninspired by it," he sallies.
He has already bagged a string of awards. He won the junior Talent
Explosion contest of Northern Alberta in 2002. He was invited
to play at the Big Valley Jamboree, which incidentally is a western
country-music festival. At the Edmonton Kwanis Music Festival,
his tabla-playing skill received rave reviews. He has accompanied
music maestros Ustad Shujaat Khan and Ustad Aashish Khan too.
"I can’t have enough of tabla. Practice I must, come
what may. Music is not about having arrived; it’s about exploring
your limits," says this young tabla-player. When back home
at Edmonton, he would like to give final touches to his first
compact disc of tabla solo. He plans to release the disc early
next year. His dreams are all tabla-centric — he has no time
for snazzy music or glitzy performances.
