Learn it perfectly even if it’s one raaga, Rajeev Taranath used to say, recall fans

'Guruji (Taranath) always insisted that we learn and master a few raagas, instead of learning too many (raagas), and ending up being a master of none,' said academician and translator, Krishna Manavalli.

Three weeks after sarod maestro Pandit Rajeev Taranath’s demise, a group of art and music lovers came together here on Sunday evening to pay homage to his musical journey.

A special memorial concert and screening of the documentary Rajeev Taranath – A Memoir was organised by Sahiti mattu Kalavidara Vedike and Prasiddhi Foundation.

“Guruji (Taranath) always insisted that we learn and master a few raagas, instead of learning too many (raagas), and ending up being a master of none,” Krishna Manavalli, academician and translator, said as she recalled learning raag Yaman Kalyan for months when she started learning sarod from the maestro.

C Chandrashekhar, former IPS officer and a close friend of Taranath, nodded to the artiste’s mastery that could make difficult raagas like Mali Gaura enjoyable even for people without a formal training in music.

I M Vittal Murthy and Chiranjiv Singh, retired IAS officers, noted Taranath’s simplicity and the heights he scaled as a sarod virtuoso.

Pratibha Prahlad, Bharatanatyam dancer and managing trustee of Prasiddhi Foundation, argued that Taranath’s works deserve greater recognition, and recounted the finer details of the artiste’s sensibility, in understanding and philosophising the act of playing the instrument.

The event also featured a musical rendition by Sachin Hampe on sarod, and Pandit Udayraj Karpur and Pradyumna on tabla.

Taranath was awarded the Padma Shri in 2019 and the Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 2000. The 92-year-old breathed his last in Mysuru on June 11.