You have done lots of fusion work with international artistes in both concerts and albums. Is this something that you specially enjoy?
Yes. A recent highlight in my career is the 17-concert tour I did with Doug Cox, which was called Slide To Freedom. This album of Northern Blues was also released by a Canadian label last year, and among the venues at which we performed was a remote town called Whitehorse in the North-West area of that country almost on the Canadian-Alaskan border. The temperature was 22 degrees below zero and there was six-feet deep snow, but we had a packed audience.
And the icing on the cake was that we have won a pre-Grammy nomination for it in 2008 and have got one even this year.

What is it that attracts you to collaborations?
I like to combine with every form and format of music with proper fusion or jugalbandi. Screen termed me a “Global Indian” some years ago and I want to justify that title now (Smiles)! I even lost 30 kilos with diet restrictions and exercise and I am now motivated to change the image of the Indian classical musician from the orthodox one of someone who wears a kurta and carries a jhola. I wear my traditional attire too, but I could live and die in my jeans - I enjoy casual wear. And yes, by the way, another magazine termed me “The New Don”(Laughs). And did you know that at one point I actually wanted to model and to act in films as well? Mumbai can be such a magnet!
So for me, everything, including my music, is about passion. I am 39, and I have not done too badly for myself by travelling to 25 countries for my concerts! (Winks) I do solo and traditional classical concerts, but fusion opens up both my mind and that of audiences. Mental and musical tuning are both needed with a collaborator, whether he is an Indian or a foreigner. And if the artiste is someone like my father, whom I call “dangerously talented” I have to be on my toes! (Smiles)

Is there a missionary angle to this as well?
I do want to see Indian classical music in a new light, and I want the world too to see it my way. When the Satvik Veena synergises with Funk, Jazz, New Jazz, Gospel, Folk, Rock, Blues or other genres, there is a reactive response from both Indians and those who are into these genres. Music must be dynamic and must expand its horizons all the time. We must break barriers.
Another myth that should be shattered is that Indian classical music is the exclusive terrain of the intelligentsia. The masses must start finding it attractive, or our beautiful legacy may face troubled times. I have performed solo shows to audiences of 40,000 to a lakh in places you cannot imagine would be receptive to the Veena, but with fusion, the audience will be even bigger.
Classical music must make headway. In India we are so used to only film music with its visuals and videos as mass fare. That is simply because it is right there in front of our eyes and available to our ears.

How can classical music match that?
We need a 24/7 television channel - at least one - dedicated to classical music. Worldspace Radio has done a singular service to Indian classical music with its full-time channel Radio Gandharva. The economics have to be worked out. When we visit a historical musuem, we pay. When we park our car somewhere, we pay. So why are most classical performances in India free of charge?
Yes, the argument put forward by the orthodox set is the supposedly-idealistic claim that “Classical music and musicians bikaoo nahin hain (We are not commercial)”. But without money flowing in, how can there be development in any art? How can any creative field evolve? How will creativity flourish if the classical musician is struggling to sustain himself and his family? The media too should support us and help connect our work with the aam aadmi. We too must be able to lead good lifestyles.

How do you look at film music?
I like most of today’s composers, like A.R.Rahman. My father, my son and I, are all fans of Himesh Reshammiya. We love all the legendary composers, and R.D.Burman is my special favourite. Having said that, I must say that old film songs were based on raags and that helped keep classical music nearer to the masses. We cannot forget that film is the biggest medium can be the greatest booster to classical music. So we should have something more than scantily-clad females! At the same time, let us not forget that film music is just eight decades old and music has existed for over 5000 years. In Hindu mythology, Shivji is associated with the damroo, Saraswati with the Veena and Krishna bhagwan with the bansuri.
Today, movements with missionary zeal like SPIC-MACAY and some other initiatives are trying to narrow the chasm between the masses and the elite.

Why is Indian classical music respected more outside the country?
That’s because the foreigners do not have closed mindsets. Western audiences are more respectful of music in general and that includes our sangeet. They pay 50 or 100 dollars or even more to listen to artistes perform live. I value such an approach. In India, the common man is prone to listen to a raag and say, “I did not understand it!” and hear a film song and exclaim, “Mazaa aa gaya!” (I enjoyed it). When asked why, he says, “Because I understood it!” What does he mean? Can he really write the swar-lipi (notations) of any film song? Then how can he say that he understood it? This mindset is wrong!

What is coming up from you now?
There are three albums with leading labels about which I cannot talk at the moment.

The Grammy is missing from the room. Where does your father keep it?
He does not want to display it. For him, good work is its own reward.

Your lineage in music goes back generations.
In our family there have been poets, teachers, priests, instrumentalists as well as vocalists. My ancestors were gurus to royalty, immensely learned in academic and religious matters, and called to impart that knowledge to kings. We are said to have originated from Andhra Pradesh and then migrated to Maharashtra and finally to Rajasthan, summoned by royalty. My grandparents were illustrious vocalists. My nephew Ankit is now a fast-rising musician.

What made you invent this unique Satvik Veena that looks like a blend of the guitar and the Veena?
As I told you, music needs to evolve. My father invented the Mohan Veena to correct certain shortfalls in the traditional instruments. There are 19 strings in Satvik Veena, which is named after my son, whose name incidentally refers to Lord Shiva. The instrument was created after a lot of trial-and-error to improve upon the staccato notes that most instruments give. (Strums some strings). See how the sound is very lingering, thus resembling human vocal cords. I had the instrument designed eight years ago and got it right only on the tenth piece!