'Music needs unhindered dedication'

As the first woman in her family of renowned Hindustani classical musicians to take up music, and the sixth in the unbroken lineage, vocalist Meeta Pandit’s journey has been all about music.

“I can’t identify with anything or any place more than music. As long as I can remember, our home used to always buzz with conversations on classical music. I have been learning music since I was three. We were and are still a household which breathes music,” says Pandit, who is the grand daughter and disciple of Gwalior Gharana maestro Krishna Rao Shankar Pandit and daughter of Laxman Krishnarao Pandit.

She renders traditional but increasingly rare, ‘Tappa’ or form of Indian semi-classical vocal music in her concerts. Adept with genres of Tarana, Bhajan, Thumri, Sufi as well as cross cultural music, she believes the world is witnessing different types of music and a musician needs to upgrade herself accordingly. The Delhi-based artiste avers, “There is an opening up of the society and the availability of music at a click of a button. Every school has at least five bands which is a tremendous and beautiful change and requires a musician to constantly re-invent herself.”

With a doctorate in music, Meeta has won many national awards including Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar awarded by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Award, Sur -Mani, Yuva Ojaswini, Yuva Ratna and FICCI Award.

She has also been actively teaching budding singers from India and abroad under guru shishya parampara so that they could “spread the message” of Indian classical music globally. “Guru bhakti teaches one the quality of reverence, love and extreme devotion that is rare these days. Music is not an easy field to follow; it is very unpredictable because music needs unhindered dedication. So, if one is able to accomplish it, he/she can be the pillars of strength for Indian classical music,” says Meeta, who presented a popular music appreciation series called Swar Shringar on World Space Satellite Radio.

Emphasising on the quintessential value of arts, she mentions, “Each one of us needs to have a hobby or a passion and when that passion is towards the arts, it encourages love, patience, tolerance, kindness and devotion that the society needs today.”

Pandit aims to reach out to the masses, especially the youth with classical music. “Today’s children are not pursuing one thing at a time – whether music, piano or studies. So the way out is to have a change in teaching so that our youth is not only interested to take up Hindustani classical music but also sees it as a rewarding career,” says Meeta.