NRI, (Non-resident Indian) Kiran Ahluwalia to find one of the
last living masters of ghazala form of sung poetry that
originated in Persia 1000 years ago and reached India 400 years
later. When she met Vithal Raoher teachershe was
exposed to a bygone era, a time before Indian independence when
princes and kings employed court musicians to put music to poetry.
In an odd twist of fate.
Raoher maestroentered the palace of the King of
Hyderabad as a young boy and, now in his seventies, carries
rich memories of those days; memories that he has passed onto
Kiran along with the techniques and intricacies of ghazal performance
and composition.
Because there is such a vast repertoire of this music today,
there are very few ghazal composers, even in India. Singers
usually stick to the true classics. But Kiran has long been
on a path to mastery so that she could one day compose for the
sensual and highly literary poetic form.
It started with learning songs from her parents, both ghazals
as well as Punjabi folk songs. When I was growing up in
India, very few people had recordings of any kind, Kiran
recalls. There were state sponsored concerts that people
from all over would walk to and crowd into. While some children
would get bored, I was perfectly content taking it in, even
if I had to stand up the whole time. We had lived in New Zealand
for a time and on the way back to India my father bought a reel-to-reel
tape player in Hong Kong. We would listen to tapes of Indian
music. We would also listen to Bollywood on the radio, and when
a song came on that I wanted to learn, my mother would quickly
write down the lyrics for me.
Kiran studied classical Indian music from the time she was
seven, first in India and then in Canada where she immigrated
with her parents. After getting an MBA and launching a career
as a bond trader in Toronto, she decided to quit her job and
become a full time student of music; her parents were dismayed.
Doors were slammed and tears were shed, says Kiran.
But they saw that I was adamant about it and this was
something I needed to do. And before I boarded the plane for
India, I had their support.
Kiran spent many years in Bombay studying Indian classical
music. She finally discovered the ghazal maestro Vithal Rao
and made plans to study with him.
The next time I went to India I planned to study with
my classical teacher for one month and then ask permission to
leave and learn from this ghazal master. In India, your teacher
has a higher status than a music teacher here would have. There
are certain social rules you must follow. I was so afraid of
what my teacher would say that I waited four months before I
had the courage to ask her. I thought she would say, Fine,
but never come back through these doors again. Instead
she was very supportive, knowing that this was important to
me.
It was monsoon season in Bombay when I called Vithal
Rao, Kiran recalls. I went into a phone boothit
was noisy with all the rain pouring down as I dialed. I spent
three minutes explaining who I was, where Id come from,
and that I wanted to come and learn from him. To this, he simply
replied, Well, then when are you coming? And within
a couple of days I was on a train from Bombay to Hyderabad.
Kiran also spent much time in her native Punjab, traveling
into villages, digging around, trying to find folk musicians
who had never been recorded. I was familiar with Punjabi
music from the club scene, bhangra and all of that. But I was
more interested in the acoustic roots Punjabi music. And I always
had my eyes out for poetry books and scholars for new material
that I could compose.
With all of this traveling and searching, quite a surprise
was in store for Kiran much closer to home in Toronto. One
day a poet friend of my mother invited us to a recital of various
poets belonging to an organization called Punjabi Kalma da Kafla
(Caravan of Punjabi Pens), says Kiran. This turned
into an immensely important night. Imagine how ecstatic I felt;
I sing in a genre that emerged in Persia in the 10th century
and traveled to India in the 14th century, and here we were
in the present day. I was composing music in this genre and
I found poets writing beautiful lyrics in this poetic form of
ghazals right here in Canada. A huge door opened up for me.
Kiran composed for one of the poems she heard that night and
she and this circle of poets became a part of the evolution
of ghazals, thousands of miles away from the song forms origins.
Kirans bi-cultural life experience has made her adept
at reaching new audiencessomething evident in her thoughtful
and modern explanations when on stage. To one recent audience,
she explained that ghazals explore the many moods of love, from
the ecstatic to the despondent, from pursuing the beloved to
feeling the restlessness of unrequited love, and summarized
by describing a ghazal as a highly-literate pick up line.
Kiran earned a Juno Award in 2004 (the Canadian equivalent of
a Grammy). And on her latest CD, Kiran Ahluwalia, she further
cements her Canadian roots on two previously unreleased collaborations
with Cape Breton Celtic fiddler Natalie MacMaster. "What
a thrill to be brought into Kiran's world of Indian music,
Natalie says. Her voice is beautiful, natural and so capable
and she is a great talent and a wonderful person. It was a pleasure
to have the opportunity and I think we created some very special
music together."
In March of 2002 she performed at a world music festival in
Lahore, Pakistan, where she was able to see how well her compositions
of South Asian Canadian poets were received by an audience steeped
in the tradition.
Released in 2003, Beyond Boundaries won the 2004 Juno Award
for Best World Music Recording and Ahluwalia started performing
on international stages; at the Kaustinen Festival in Finland,
the Chicago World Music Festival, a small tour of northern Spain
and many of the best theatres in Canada. In fact, her touring
has been so successful that she was awarded the 2004 Canadian
Arts Presenters Touring Artist of the Year Kiran has also recently
come to the attention of the international press, getting accolades
from the likes of the Village Voice, Songlines, and Global Rhythm
Magazine.
In the beginning of 2005 Kiran signed an international record
deal with Triloka/Artemis -- her self-titled international debut
album will be released in June 2005. This new release is comprised
of fully re-mixed and re-mastered highlights from Ahluwalias
two previous independent releases, as well as two brand new
songs with guest artist, Cape Breton Fiddler, Natalie MacMaster.
Fans of Ahluwalia will find favourites like Koka,
Vo Kuch and Yeh Nahin on this new release.
But theyll also be intrigued and delighted by the two
new tracks featuring MacMaster. With the release of this impressive
body of work in countries around the world, Kiran Ahluwalia
is truly taking her music beyond boundaries and becoming a global
musician for the 21st century.