Mumbai: Music indeed breathes life into many who seek peace, happiness and serenity. Life Is Music – a musical initiative is a platform for artists from across all age groups to come and explore their creativity and share their music with patrons of this melodious art form.
Yoshita Sengupta speaks with Ratan Bharati to know what it takes to be a musician at this age, the challenges that one faces while trying to pursue the same and the efforts that it takes to be a musician.
The slide guitar player from Kolkata talks about the lack of opportunities, the struggles of musicians, the dedication needed to continue and the pursuit to get classical music appreciated.
He wasn’t a child prodigy. Music was neither a calling nor did he have instruments lying around his modest home for him to pick it up as a toddler and start tinkering with it. Thirty year-old Ratan Bharti’s story is real; it’s regular;so is his life, career and his aspirations. Excerpts from an interview;
How did you start playing the slide guitar? Was it a calling like a lot of contestants on the show?
I started playing the Hawaiian Guitarthat was handed to me about 20 odd years back by my father. I didn’t know what professional musicians were like or what music really meant. I would just learn and play, because I was asked to. Over time, I started to develop a bond with the instrument and started to love the sound that came out of it.
How and why did you switch to the slide guitar?
When I was about 14 or 15 years-old, I heard Pandit Debashish Bhattacharya (Grammy award nominee, disciple of Pandit Brij Bhushan Kabra), play the slide guitar. I just wanted to play like him, get an instrument like he had and learn from him. I just wanted to learn from him.
At what age did you decide to take up music as a profession?
It was around the same time I discovered the slide guitar and started to learn from Pandit Debashish Bhattacharya.
