Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): “An artiste never dies. So, whenever there will be sounds of santoor, maestro Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma will be with me,” said flautist Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia.
The 85-year-old Chaurasia was speaking on Wednesday - the concluding day of the 41st foundation day function of Bharat Bhavan on Wednesday evening.
He paid tribute to santoor maestro Pandit Shivkumar before his performance. He said, “Shivji is still with me. Artistes never die. Shivji will be present wherever santoor is played in CDs, in videos and on YouTube. I consider myself very fortunate to be his friend. We worked together for a long time.”
Speaking further, he said two years of Covid -19 were painful for artistes. “I am performing at Bharat Bhavan after three years. Before going to perform on stage, every artiste should think that this is his or her first and last performance. I am as nervous as bride is before marriage,” he remarked.
The Shiv-Hari duet was to be held at Bharat Bhavan in May 2022. The event was cancelled due to demise of Shiv Kumar Sharma. They both had performed on Bhavan’s foundation day in 2014.
Chaurasia began his one-and-a -half hour performance with Raag Patdeep. He was accompanied by disciple Debupriya Chatterjee on flute, Ojas Adia on tabla, Bhavani Shankar on pakhawaj and Vaishnavi Joshi on flute. Antarang Hall of the Bhawan was jam-packed. A large number of music lovers were seen who came to attend the concert of legendary flute player.
