Photo: Samrat Bandodkar
It is not everyday that we come across an American playing Indian classical music, especially, one as dedicated as Nash Naubert. And indeed, this passion is very much evident as the international flautist, who is all set to perform at the 34th Surashree Kesarbai Kerkar Sangeet Samaroha in Kala Academy on November 7, along with Pt Kalinath Mishra on the tabla, chats enthusiastically about the beauty and soothing effect that this music genre can induce.
“As a teenager I was attracted to world music and drawn towards instruments across the world, dabbling with the flute in Japan and the aboriginal didgerido. It was a curiosity to see the place and learn about the history and culture that drew me to India where I decided to take a few lessons in flute. I love woodwind instruments and the bamboo for the soothing tonal quality that it was. So, the flute seemed like the perfect instrument,” says Naubert, who as a youngster did take piano lessons and studied piano theory and history. But, Naubert could not stop at just a few lessons. “ It was like an addiction. The more I worked on it, the more rewarding I found it and I just had to continue,” he admits. Thus began his formal training under the tutelage of Professor Prahlad Nath, PhD of the “North Indian Bansuri for the Faculty of Music” at the Benares Hindu University. He later studied under Harsh Wardhan, a world renowned master craftsman of the Bansuri and in 2002 got accepted as a student in the Vrindavan Gurukul Music School in Versova, under the tutelage of Padmabhushan Hariprasad Chaurasia. Apart from performing in shows all over India and abroad, Naubert also has a band called 'Indrakali'. “ Indra is the God of Thunder and my band only comprises of percussionists, who are the thunder to my music,” explains Naubert, on how the name came about.
“ Although Hariprasad has done a lot of innovations in techniques and it is difficult to top that, I also hope to bring about a few innovations of my own,” he says.
He is also working on a travel show to take Indian classical music to a larger audience and introduce Indians to the vast variety of artists that are there in India. “Also Indian classical music is still a niche art form and I want to change that and make it acceptable to all. I feel it has the potential to touch everyone both emotionally and mentally.”
