INKtalks & INK Conference blog

Q&A with Vasundhara Das: The sufi calling…

Vaibhav — Thu, 02 May 2013 12:18:32 +0000

”It has been like a calling that cannot be explained.”

Singer-songwriter extraordinaire Vasundhara Das, who enthralled audiences at the INK Conference 2012 with her soulful music, is out with her new album. The Shah Hussain Project Vol. 1, first previewed at INK2012, breathes new life into the poetry of the 16th century Sufi poet Shah Hussain. Vasundhara shares her excitement and inspirations for the album in this exclusive interview for the INK Blog.

Vasundhara Das, photo by Nimish Jain

What attracted you to Sufi poetry, and particularly to Shah Hussain?

Sufi Poetry has always attracted me. It has been like a calling that cannot be explained. And being a student of Hindustani classical music, Sufi poetry always reached out to me when I listened to greats like Abida Parveen and Nusrat Saab.

Sufism and Sufi poetry talk about love for the beloved, being open and accepting inside out, being pure in thought and action and the poetry of Shah Hussain is no different. His poetic metaphors, rhythmic sensibilities and straightforward thought process are what drew me to his work. He was a social commentator of his time and interestingly, what he wrote five hundred years ago applies to us, in the present, in the 21st century.

You have said this project was significant in both your professional journey and personal journey in music. How is that?

My journey in music began in a home that took music very seriously. Everyone at home and in the extended family takes pride in putting kids into music lessons with the sole intention of enjoying this amazing gift for oneself first.

But for me, I wanted to live off of music. I wanted it to be my career and I was clear about that from a very young age. So as I got into music before getting into the movie music industry, I was influenced in a big way by world music, crossing genres and so on, but was always also into Hindustani classical music too. And then, my first commercial release – AR Rahman’s Shakalaka Baby and a host of hits to follow! I could not imagine that my dream for a career in music would come true, just like that. But along side the hits, I’ve always wanted to challenge myself more and that has always happened outside the world of film music because of what we all have come to know as the film ‘typecast’.

To cut to the chase, this is an extremely significant project in my professional journey because it is my first independent release as a music composer, singer and songwriter which will cross boundaries and appeal to many demographics of people. And in my personal journey too it is extremely significant because of the way I have pushed myself with the help of Roberto to come up with music I never thought I was capable of creating.

”And in my personal journey too it is extremely significant because of the way I have pushed myself with the help of Roberto to come up with music I never thought I was capable of creating.”

What was it like collaborating with Mir Mutkhtiyar Ali? How did that happen?

Mir Mukhtiyar Ali, Photo by Nimish Jain

I first saw Mir Mukhtiyar Ali on a documentary called Had Anhad, part of the Kabir Project. He subsequently performed in Bangalore and I met him after his concert. His performance had moved me so much and I wanted to tell him that. We met at my studio the next day and spent the day talking about life, music and sufi poetry. By the end of the day it was very evident that we both wanted to collaborate and create music based on the poetry of Shah Hussain.

That’s how the Shah Hussain Project began.
He is an absolute joy to work with. The fact that he comes into a situation with an open mind, willing to step out of his comfort zone and wanting to try new things is really amazing. Through this process, real relationships have been forged with real musical chemistry between some amazingly talented musicians. We truly met each other half way through this process.

You have said that The Shah Hussain Project is a lot more than just music. What is the idea behind it?

I see The Shah Hussain Project as a chain of inspiration. We were inspired by Shah Hussain’s poetry and that led us to be the second link in the chain and create the music. The poetry and the music has inspired the third link in the chain, Shilo Shiv Suleman, who created the beautiful artwork. And we hope this continues onward with others who want to be part of a process like this.

Tell us about the ‘live’ element of this album.

The intent here has been to create music which, just like the poetry, is from the past, in the present, going into the future. And that has been the mandate for the treatment of the sound. The idea is to take the music out on tour to be performed live in front of audiences in India as well as outside. So the ‘live’ element of this project has been of utmost importance. In terms of the production, it sounds like a live band playing and the project has very consciously not been over produced. The great dynamics heard from the musicians has come about because everyone has played all the songs completely and no shortcuts have been used. The decision to work with guitars, keyboards and a drum kit is a deliberate one.

Vasundhara Das performing at INK2012, photo by Varsha Yeshwant Kumar

Tell us something about The Active Studio, and what to expect with Shah Hussain Project Vol 2.?

The Shah Hussain Project is the first work of music coming out of The Active Studio, where the entire project was conceptualized and recorded. The seeds of this were sown almost a decade ago when the studio came into existence. During this time, Roberto Narain and me, partners at The Active Studio, have been continuously investing to have the right equipment, software and people to see their vision through. Our vision for the studio was that it be our musical playground, a place where we are able to make our musical dreams a reality. And at The Active Studio, The Shah Hussain project marks the beginning of many more projects to come. The Shah Hussain Project Volume 2 is currently under production and the music is as exciting to us as volume 1.

Where can we get the album? How can your fans get involved?

Our album is available on iTunes, Amazon, and Nokia Music Store, and soon will be on Flyte store. It is available for streaming on mobiles at dhingana.com.
Physical CDs featuring some amazing artwork by Shilo Shiv Suleman will be available for sale at all SHP concert venues. To begin with, we would be delighted if fans can ‘Like’ The Shah Hussain Project facebook page.
Go to any of the above mentioned online stores and buy the album., and come to our concert when we are performing in their city.

Can you leave us with a few lines of Shah Hussain’s poetry that you love, and translate for us what they mean?

Mera Sona Sajan; Mera sona sajan ghar aaya hai ni; Ral mil diyo mubaarkaan; Jis sajan noon main dhoondan chaliya; Woh sajan main paaya hai ni; Rehdaa taa aangan bhayaa suhaana; Matthe noor suhaaya hai ni; Mera sona sajan ghar aaya hai ni; Kahe Hussain fakeer namaana; Murshid dost milaya hai ni;Mera sona sajan ghar aaya hai ni

Which translates into:

My beautiful lover has come home; Come and congratulate me, all of you; My beautiful lover has come home; The lover I have been seeking; Is the one I have found at last; My courtyard looks more beautiful now; The glow on my face is bright; Says Hussain the wise; It is my teacher who has led me to my lover; My beautiful lover has come home.

The Shah Hussain Project artwork by Shilo Shiv Suleman

Interviewed by: Vaibhav Mathur , INK staff

Pictures by: Nimish Jain

Preparing for the INK Conference 2012 , Pune

Vaibhav — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 11:20:56 +0000

The final countdown begins. We are just one day away from INK2012 and the Pune Marriott Hotel and Convention Center is buzzing with activity.

The INK team and volunteers are working away from the production office and beyond, fellows and speakers are polishing there talks on stage, and the stage crew are perfecting the cameras, sound and lighting. Backstage a jungle of electric wires, multiple projectors illuminating the ginormous stage screen, and the tech crew are ensuring all the key electronic connections to light up the INK2012 stage fall smoothly into place.

The impressive stage, designed by our much loved INKster Raghava KK – where the speakers will deliver their talk of a lifetime – will be unveiled shortly – we don’t want to spoil the surprise

This is what INK Curator & Host, Lakshmi Pratury has to say on the chosen theme for this year – ‘Designing the future — Now’

Eleanor Roosevelt said,“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” We, at INK, agree. INK is all about people – mavericks, out of box thinkers, geniuses, doubters, arguers, and inventors – in essence, those who actively design the future with pure passion.

When Marie and Pierre Curie invented radium, they were designing the future for the generations that followed. They took charge and devoted themselves to their research, even when there was no institutional support. When Steve Jobs was pursuing his dream of technological revolutions, he did not let anything stand in his way – not even getting fired from his own company. He went to work every day, every moment, designing the future he dreamed of. All of us can be active designers of our future, and not just passive observers of it. We get to decide NOW.. RIGHT NOW.. the future that we want and work together, as a community, to make it real.

We, at INK, invite all of you to participate in writing our future. To do this, we need to identify what aspects of our past need to be held on to, what aspects of our past need to be discarded and most importantly, what new aspects need to be created. We need to dream of a future and make sure that we do everything we can to prepare for it. So, to add to what Eleanor Roosevelt said: “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams, especially to those who are unstoppable in making those dreams real.”

This year, we are thrilled to have four co-hosts who will share the stage with me to contribute their ideas to our collective pursuit. Please join me in welcoming them and let us all take charge and design the future …now.

- Lakshmi Pratury

preparing for INK2012

INK2012 will showcase installation art by some of the most well known artists in the world as a part of Art at INK

For more pictures Click Here

Exclusive Sneak Peak: Lakshmi Pratury records on her phone — Jeff Marx, a speaker at INK2012 rehearsing for his performance.

Checkout the full list of Speakers and Fellows for INK2012 Here

Don’t forget to tune in for the the free livestreaming online! Limited sessions from the conference will be webcast live on our homepage http://inktalks.com

Mint in conversation with Lakshmi Pratury: “INK is the best brain spa there is..”

Vaibhav — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 08:53:26 +0000

Mint’s Malia Politzer talks to Lakshmi Pratury, the curator of the INK conference, about what inspired her to hold the conference in India and the potential she sees in Indian youth.

TRANSCRIPT OF THE INTERVIEW WITH MALIA POLITZER OF LIVEMINT

Malia Politzer: Today I have with me Lakshmi Pratury, the curator of the INK conference, to be held in Pune between October 11th and 14th. Lakshmi, can you tell me a little bit about the INK conference? what is it ?

Lakshmi Pratury: INK is a place where people come together to learn about what is happening around the world. We call it– it’s the best brain spa there is. So, you learn a little bit of everything that is happening around the world, from art to architecture — to technology to business, who are some of the people who are doing cutting-edge work there. And we become a part of a community.

Malia Politzer: So, my understanding is — this is India’s version of the TED conferences. So, first can you tell me Why you decided to bring TED to India in the first place?

Lakshmi Pratury: I wanted to do something here. And I believe in the intersection of corporate, community, and culture. I think they three should intersect very tightly. And that’s really what we wanted to do. The original idea was– I was living in California, working there. I came here just to co-host TEDindia, and I was going to go back. But the year I spent really with people here — coaching them on their stories. I really realized that we are sitting on a treasure trove in India. we are just not telling these stories properly on a global stage. Not because we can’t, it’s just we don’t feel it’s necessary. I really feel it is necessary to tell the India’s story in it’s entirety .

Malia Politzer: And how is India INK different from TED? like what are the goals and how do they differ from the global TED conference? what’s the India specific angle?

Lakshmi Pratury: I wouldn’t say we are different from TED. I think we have added layers to it. Initially when we started, it was just to showcase the ideas. And, like TED did we had a Fellows program, where we would bring all the young people — and we had a separate track for them, they would speak there, they would learn there etc., and we had the main stage where we brought 40-50 great amazing thinkers, doers– who are all extremely accomplished.

But what we felt after the first year was — that in India we need to give more support to the youth because they don’t have enough forums where they are taken seriously, and they are amazing thinkers. In fact, I feel I learn everyday from someone half my age and twice as smart — that’s the only rule we have in our company about hiring.

And I felt we need to give them stage in a much more profound way. So, what we did was we said there will be no separate fellows track. we still have that where they get together, they learn. But, all the fellows, majority of them will speak on the main stage. So, we have blended in the conference to feature the youth in a much more significant way.

Malia Politzer: So, who is the key audience?

Lakshmi Pratury: The key audience is, you know… the thought leaders of India, the people from the corporations, communities,etc. And we do have a youth component. we bring about 20 fellows every years — who are very young, most of them can’t afford to come to a conference like this on their own. But, they are all doing just amazing things in their own fields — so, we bring them for free. This year, for the first time we are doing a thing called INKlive, where we are webcasting the conference to a live location, 45 minutes away — where it costs someone only a 1000 rupees to come and attend that, and some of our speakers are going to go interact with them.

Malia Politzer: Why is there this huge emphasis on youth? I mean you have also spoken about this in previous interviews, how do you feel that youth in India right now are to contribute? and do you think they are different from previous generations?

Lakshmi Pratury: I think the youth today is very different. And, the reason first of all [that] I am passionate about the youth is that everyone does a business that is close to their heart. And to me, when I was young, and I started doing things out of the box — I remember feeling ‘I was wrong’, ‘what was wrong with me’. Luckily I had a great home which was very unusual than any of my friend’s had. I had a very supportive father, very supportive set of sisters who allowed me to stray out of the path, so to speak, and still feel okay… I’m okay, If I didn’t have that, I really feel I would have lost my passion — I would have lost who I am .

And, I saw that happening a lot around me. where there are a lot of people, with a lot of passions and interests and capabilities, who couldn’t pursue it because they didn’t have that support structure. So, there is a personal passion for me — to let someone know ‘there is a home here for you.. don’t worry’.

Beyond that, from a business point of view, this is — we are at a very amazing time in India. anyone who is born after ’91 is truly free in their mind, which is the most important thing. I was born way after independence, but somewhere in my mind I am not free, because I remember we were ruled by the British, I felt I had to leave here and go to America because the best education was there. So, somewhere in the back of my mind I might feel, no matter what I say that someone else knows better than me, whereas, anyone born after ’91 — in 2000s there were teenagers, and they have seen India only rising, they have seen India growing.

And they feel that they can do anything they want, they don’t have to leave India to pursue what they want. And, no matter what their pursuits are, there is some commercial angel to it that they can sustain themselves. If you loved Photography, in my time, what do you do?– there were like 3 papers and 1 television channel, and where do you go? — but today, if you want to be a photographer you can pursue many avenues.

So, I feel we are at an amazing tipping point in India. And, I feel we really have 5-7 years, and if we don’t support the youth now, and give them this freedom to think out of the box — we will create robots, and they wouldn’t be able to think out of the box. But, they can, and they are. So, that’s why this is exciting for me to do this in India now, because I just feel I have gone back to school, there is so much for me to learn. And, the young people teach me all the time, my 8 year old teaches me all the times.

Malia Politzer: Thank you so much for joining us.

Lakshmi Pratury: Thank you.. Thank you..

Find out more about the INK conference 2012 in association with TED , 11th – 14th October

Lakshmi Pratury: Innovation in India – The new Rev of Reva

Vaibhav — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 20:45:58 +0000

My job at INK is to collect people – whether they have anything to do with what we do or not. I always admire people who have a vision, take a stand and be with it way before anyone else can even understand what they are talking about. Here is a story of the man who pursued a vision for a greener world — way before it was fashionable.

Today, we talk about Hybrids, Electric vehicles, and sustainability as part of our natural language. But imagine thinking about it 18 years ago. And then to take something as precious as your mother’s name and put on a project that is at best a pipe dream. This is exactly what Chetan Maini did. He launched Reva giving shape to his dreams of a greener world. And he did it in India where he hardly got any support. At a time when outsourcing was just picking up, at a time when MNCs were looking for smart, young professionals to run their companies, at a time when he could have relaxed on family money, he chose to dream. When Chetan started Reva as a joint venture between the Maini group and AEV systems in 1994, he took baby steps in giving shape to his passion and he did not let go of that passion through tough times, even when progress seem to be at a standstill. Over the years, I have heard all types of comments on Reva – some positive, some luke warm but all those who meet Chetan will agree on one thing – he is committed to his vision and is determined to make a difference in his own quiet way. Along the way, he conveyed the dream to Mahindra and got them as his partner.

Mahindra Reva : Run on the sun

On August 22nd, I got to witness a wonderful moment in Mahindra Reva’s joint journey. The occasion was their all green factory opening… Read More

This post was originally posted to Lakshmi’s Lounge , continue reading this post here