22/02/2023
The majestic sitar held in the bold posture with fingers gliding with mesmerising boldness creating mosaic of musical notes and rhythmic patterns spontaneously has forever remained an indescribable mix of profound divinity and earthly magic. On stage performance is a manifestation of years of rigorous learning and untiring practice, prioritized over everything else. To anyone who has affinity for Indian classical music will feel - I wish I could perform like that, a state where the listener becomes one with the performer. It is this emotional crescendo that I experienced when I heard Pt. Nishindra Kinjalk perform. Then I had the opportunity to speak to him and explore his world of musical performance and medical profession, which eventually converged on a patent pending framework of music therapy that can adapt to any form of world music. What was intended to be a thirty-minute conversation went on for one and half hours. His journey started with learning from his mother Smt. Prema Kinjalk when he was barely 5 years old. She gave him a small sitar. Thereafter as part of holistic learning he learnt vocal, harmonium and tabla from his father Sri. Ravindra Kinjalk who was a noted music composer and accomplished sitarist. At the age of 8 he found his calling in sitar and started the journey of rigorous learning. Meanwhile he excelled in academics and secured admission in prestigious AFMC Pune for MBBS followed by MD in Medicine and further training in infectious diseases, non evasive cardiology and Endocrinology. He has been associated with several hospitals including St. Stephens Hospital Delhi, Holy Family Hospital Delhi, Escorts Heart Institute Delhi, and Hinduja Hospital Mumbai. He still continues to practice as a senior consultant in medicine and endocrinology and contribute to leading medical journals. Balancing the two he went ahead and got a PhD in Music that opened up a new world of music therapy. In the course of this journey, he learned from Pt. Gopal Krishna and Pt. Uma Shankar Mishra and became an accomplished performer of Maihar Senia Gharana. He started his professional journey with AIR Pune as B-Grade artist, graduating to B-high, eventually A-grade in 1995 and ultimately Top-grade in 2018. Two important aspects of his performance are deep and meditative ati-mandra alap in Dhrupad style and madhya and drut laya krintan that is characteristic of Pt. Ravi Shankar. As a tribute to the maestros he has learnt from, he continues to perform on Surbahar, a predecessor of Sitar, more suited for Dhrupad style performance.
It will be incomplete if I don’t highlight how he has groomed his next generation. His eldest daughter Meghna is completing MS Surgery and is a trained Sitarist and Vocalist. His second daughter Aarushi is an established Dermatologist and Vocalist. His youngest son is in his final year of MBBS and trained in Sitar and Tabla. In the upcoming performance we will have an opportunity to know about his music therapy and be enthralled by his performance.
By Suvesh Chattopadhyaya
Member Chhandayan Delhi