An evening with the Ustad, again!

 Last night, I went for the tabla concert, "Zakir Hussain and the Masters of Percussion" here in Scottsdale Center of Performing Arts. It was a beautiful evening and there were moments where I was completely mesmerized by their musical creation. It was surreal when all the 5 musicians created something in symphony. There were 3 from India, 1 from Africa and 1 from I don't know where. Everyone except one, who was a sarangi player, were percussionists. 

I went alone this time, because it was a part of my Artists Date (Julia Cameron's Artist tool). Everyone around me had come with someone, either friends or family, at least as far as I could see and tell. I was wondering if I felt lonely there, looking at everyone talking and enjoying together as small groups. A musical concert is a communication between the listener and the performers, where is the place of anybody else in this relationship? There was no moment to feel lonely, I was sharing the experience generated by these great artists and performers. I felt absolutely no need to verbalize how and what I was feeling and experiencing during and after the concert with anybody. But writing about it is another thing, and I love to do that with you invisible readers. That sharing through written words happens in loneliness, just the expression of my thoughts and emotions and I love sharing with the world this way. Perhaps the only one I share with is myself! 

This is the third time that I attended Zakir Hussain's Tabla concert in Phoenix. I vividly remember the first one that I attended, where he was performing with Pandit Shivkumar Sharma. It was a night to remember and I got to meet him and take a picture with him after the show. That evening was beautiful and it kept lingering with me for a long time, even till today which is approximately 13 years later. The second one I attended was his performance with Ustad Shahid Parvez and I had completely forgotten about it until I saw a post about it on Facebook. And then comes last night. Was I mesmerized? I absolutely was. Did I wake up with a lingering feeling from the concert? No, I did not. And I am wondering why it did not linger. May be the impact was not tremendous, may be I enjoyed it so much in that moment that there was no need to record and linger? I can write down many reasons, but the fact remains that it didn't linger. The concert in itself was hardly 1.5 hours long. Ustad-ji was himself presenting his art the best he knows and the symphony created by the 5 artists reached the listeners and they erupted in joy, many times! I wondered later about the power of art and music and how it can evoke this beautiful joyous feeling in the viewer. What power of communication and creation the Artist has! 

Ustad-ji was his usual self, extremely humble and gracious. He kept shining the light on other performers. Everyone was there for him and he knew that. I also started thinking about legends, which Ustad-ji is in his field. I have heard of this artist since I was a kid and he shocked his audiences most of the times, with his tremendous mastery of the tabla. What all must have gone into becoming what he is today? The hours and years of practice, the discipline and the flow of talent through this human being. Hard work and practice are necessary to gain the skillet. But during the performance, the flow of Divine Creative Energy lights up the performance and creates something beautiful for the world to witness! How does this flow happen? It could only happen through a silent mind, non-struggling hands so adept on the tabla, no effort, no conflict and the music just flows. That's what it feels like when I see Ustad-ji performing on stage. Its simply effortless! What a privilege to witness him in his flow...

Blessed Be.