Bengaluru-based musician Prakash Sontakke hails from the rich, illustrious lineage of the ‘Gwalior Gharana’. An iconoclast in Hindustani classical music, Prakash is known for breaking ‘ragas’ into their building blocks and defying genres.
His explorations in world music are underlined by his strong classical training. He is one of the leading composers in Hindustani and fusion music and is also the only one in India playing the Hawaiian guitar, ‘Weissenborns’, slide guitar and the ‘Dobro’ in the Hindustani style. He received his doctorate in music in 2016.
He was the co-composer, vocalist and guitarist of the Grammy award winning album, ‘Winds of Samsaara’, and the recipient of numerous awards such as the ‘Aryabhatta Award’. He has also composed music for movies, documentaries, animation films and jingles.
1 | Movie‘Shawshank Redemption’
“The character which Andy Dufresne portrays in ‘Shawshank Redemption’ is very powerful and inspiring. There is something about him which told me ‘never say die’ or taught me not to give up in life. There are so many times in everyone’s lives when things go wrong.
We don’t know what we can do then. At that time, all we have to do is wait patiently for things to fall in place. I also like the movie ‘Mother India’ in which Nargis plays a very powerful role. A lot of people thought she was overacting in the film. I loved the movie because of the strong role and brave, raw portrayal of violence.”
2 | Artiste
‘Pink Floyd’
“Songs by ‘Pink Floyd’ are always on my playlist. The band pursued music for expression and not to impress anyone. Today, I feel we spend too much time working on music to impress rather than using it as a medium of expression, escape and joy. I admire Pandit Kumar Gandharv for the same reason. He often used to come home and meet my parents since they were artistes.
I was never aware of his abilities when I was a child. I only used to think of him as a soft-spoken man in my younger days. Then I heard his rendition of ‘ud jaayega hans akela’. It is a beautiful piece by Kabir, which was later immortalised by Kumar Gandharv. I was mesmerised when I heard his rendition. Here was a man who sang not to listen to anyone’s applause but for the sheer joy of it. It is rare to come across people who pursue art for art’s sake in today’s commercial world.”
3 | Inspiration
Chaitra Sontakke
“My wife Chaitra is my inspiration. She is very committed to her work and her music. She has encouraged me a lot. We are very different people but spend a lot of time together. We are 2 distinct personalities. She doesn’t believe in the same things that I do.
For instance, she is a strict believer of the traditional ‘gharanas’ while practising music but I like to experiment and defy boundaries. If I like to go out, she would like to stay at home. We end up talking about music at home and elsewhere as if our lives depend on it personally and professionally. It’s difficult to not talk about the factor that unites us. We also love creating something new together.”
4 | Place
Oslo
“I have been to Oslo many times. I have gone there mainly for performances. It is a very quiet town. The Norwegians are introverts yet welcoming and hospitable. The cityscape is modern with diverse architecture and it is a cultural hub.
Oslo is a compact city and it is easy to move around the place. It is one of the cleanest and greenest cities. I interacted with a lot of musicians there and was happy to find that most of their expressions, while talking and just being with each other, are adapted from music. My most memorable performance was the one at Rainbow Club with jazz musician Thomas Stronen. It was the best experience. The audience was wonderful.”
5 | Cuisine‘Jhunka Bhakhar’
“‘Jhunka bhakhar’ is the staple food of rural Maharashtra. It is ‘aloo’ mixed with a special kind of roti and tingles the tastebuds.
Whenever I go to Maharashtra for performances, my first question to the organiser is if he can arrange ‘jhunka bhakhar’ for me. It is not a popular dish because it requires time to cook. Like ‘dosa’, it requires a day to prepare as the batter has to be mixed well. A lot of people don’t make this dish.
In Mumbai as well, it is very difficult to find ‘jhunka bhakhar’. It is an example of how humble ingredients can come together to produce something wholesome.” 6 | PhilosophyZen “I used to read books and follow different ‘gurus’ at different stages of my life. I was also deeply interested and followed the theories of Zen and mysticism. It just talks about meditation or ‘dhyana’, which I feel is very important in today’s busy life. Another philosophy that has influenced me is that of Osho’s.
All philosophies talk about being a good human being and contribute to society. The latter, I have come to realise, is the need of the hour. We may not be born equally with all privileges and facilities, but everybody has the right to live a good life.” 7 | AuthorAyn Rand
“Without a doubt, Ayn Rand is my favourite author. I loved the book ‘The Fountainhead’. Howard Roark, the protagonist, was perceived as an arrogant, snobbish intellectual.
However, he was the only one who had understood the right method of working, which a large chunk of the population failed to. This is why he was able to experiment with his ideas and defy boundaries. I feel the same way about music, or even the arts. One can experiment with ideas only when they go deep into the subject.
Henry David Thoreau is another favourite author of mine. His book ‘Walden’ is about a person who is at his creative best when he is isolated from the world. It taught me about how ideas can be churned out during perfect silence.”
(As told to Anushka Sivakumar)