In an exclusive conversation with Shikha Duggal of The Pioneer, L. Shankar shares his insights along the high points of his creative journey, the evolution of his fusion style, and his thoughts on the future of world music.
GREW UP IN LOVING AND TRANQUIL HOME
As a child, I was quite composed. My mother would show me the moon while holding me by the waist. She used to show birds to me. She used to feed me rice after feeding the birds, one grain at a time. With an indulgent mother, I grew up in a really loving and tranquil home. Except for music, I never did well in school; I never enjoyed learning and I had no desire to attend college or university. I used to be Loyola College’s number fifty-eighth out of sixty. However, I consistently represented our college and won accolades in every music competition. Thus, I managed to get away with it. They made me study physics because my father wanted me to have a second career. However, I never really liked it and thought it was a waste of time because I wanted to dedicate more time to music. The issue, in my opinion, is that parents in India and other cultures occasionally want their children to pursue their own goals. Really, you just have to let them be. Painting, art, poetry and music are all things we should support in children. For me, in order to be free to pursue my musical goals, I had to leave India. My father — whom I do not hold responsible — wanted to make sure that I had a backup career even though I was playing a lot in India.
HOME A TEMPLE OF MUSIC
My mother is from Ernakulam, my father is from Alleppey; and I am from Kerala. All of my grandparents originated in Kerala. Thus, I was there for a long time. However, I also spent a few years growing up in Sri Lanka from the age of three, while my father was a professor at Jaffna College of Music. Later, I relocated to Madras (now Chennai). My father was a violinist and vocalist, while my mother was a singer and veena musician. His brothers, who are all musicians, were all trained by him. In addition, he instructed thousands of students from other locations. Thus, music was played throughout day and night. It resembled a musical temple.
HOLIDAYS BEST TIMES OF HIS LIFE
The best times to be with a large family are always during the holidays, New Year’s Day, Deepavali and other occasions to celebrate. My mother prepared the festive delicacies every time and it was wonderful to spend time as a family. Those were the enjoyable times, but I always understood that my parents were the center of the family as long as they were living. Individuals are similar to distinct fingers on a single hand. Thus, it is possible to have members of the same family who are polar opposites. It becomes difficult to keep your parents together when they move away. That’s the way life is!
DAD TAUGHT HIM A LOT ABOUT THE BRITISH IN INDIA
I learned a lot about the British in India from my father. They, in my opinion, exploited India to a great extent and robbed the nation of its wealth and glory. I am aware that they built the railroads and everything else, but they also deserted India, which led to widespread uncertainty among the populace. There were always a lot of Muslims, Hindus amid the unrest. It has always led me to believe that, in one way or another, people are the same everywhere you go. Everybody is the same. Hindus, Muslims, and Christians coexisted peacefully in India for ages, but the British attempted to use this situation and devastate the nation. Things were hardly tranquil during the war years while my father lived.
WHEN HOME WAS INVADED & BURNED
Our home was invaded and set on fire in 1958 during the racial riots. We left everything behind as we escaped Sri Lanka and made our way back to Madras. We had to flee since everything was so awful and we made our way to a military facility by walking through a forest. One of the daughters of military officers was being taught by my father. During the severe riots, we spent a month there before departing for India and arriving in Madras. That was in 1958.
STUDIED ETHNOMUSICOLOGY FOR HIS PH D
Everyone was trying to be the first to get things going or be competitive, which is why there was so much turmoil at once. For me, there was never any rivalry because everything I needed was already there; all I had to do was to continue honing my craft, pursue my love, and practice a lot. I believe that everyone is part of God’s plan. I just went after what I wanted. I have always been fascinated by the cooperation between world music’s east and west as well as south and north. Because my father exposed me to a wide variety of music, I have always educated myself. In addition, I studied ethnomusicology for my Ph D, learning about the music of other cultures. There is a wealth of music available in every culture and nation; no system is greater than the others. Only two types of musicians exist: excellent and terrible. Among the best systems are others and Indian music. Learning all these many elements would undoubtedly strengthen someone’s ability to develop into a unique, innovative, and creative musician. My father urged me to take in elements of both south Indian and north Indian music traditions. I had been exposed to a variety of Western genres since my early teens, including rock and pop music and he was also counseled to familiarise myself with Western classical music. I studied world music and became familiar with several cultural musical systems while attending Wesleyan University.
FIRST CONCERT AT NALLUR KANDASWAMY TEMPLE
At the age of two, I started singing lessons with my father. I was able to hum intricate lines from classical Indian melodies in less than a year. My father, who can sing in five and a half octaves, frequently stresses the value of vocal training in addition to mastering an instrument in order to better understand Indian music’s embellishments. “It makes you a better performer if you learn vocals and instruments and get an all-around education in music,” he underlines often. I was five years old when I got my first violin and when I started playing, I rehearsed vocal melodies that I had learnt. My first public performance was at the Nallur Kandaswamy temple in Jaffna at a festival when I was seven years old. Until the age of 12 years, I pursued professional mridangam playing in addition to singing and violin playing. My father was adamant that you learn percussion in addition to your melodic instrument. However, as I started to get calluses on my hands, I had to stop at my father’s advice!
INVENTING CUSTOM STEREOPHONIC DOUBLE VIOLIN
I over-dubbed my vocals, violin, viola, cello and bass when I was in a London studio recording my first solo album for Zappa Records, which was produced by Frank Zappa. I used to own several violins for my various musical endeavours, including classical music for Shakti and other rock bands. Having to carry so much equipment was challenging. In order to play on the same instrument for every genre, I intended to design a single instrument. For this reason, I created the LSD, or L. Shankar’s Double Violin! I spent two years perfecting the prototype’s angle and separation between the two necks. It can produce the full spectrum of an orchestra in addition to the sounds of many other instruments, like the flute, guitar and synthesiser. I have the ability to play on one neck while the other produces a sympathetic sound. For many years, it has been such a wonderful instrument. I currently own the fourth edition of it. The instrument was first heard on Shankar’s album Who’s to Know and Phil Collins’ critically acclaimed solo album Face Value in 1981. He ensured that both necks were equally robust to prevent a tendency to play on one more often than the other after he and Parker tested a variety of materials and shapes for hours. The upper neck produces treble sounds such as the violin and viola, while the lower neck plays the double bass and cello range. Playing on one neck creates a sympathetic effect on the other, in addition to offering a generous range of five and a half octaves. When playing, the horizontal rib can be placed under the chin or, in the Indian manner, pressed up against the chest. The bowing was different because of the instrument’s wider angle and I added new methods, such as playing on both necks at once. Because the double violin can simulate the sound of an entire orchestra, it can be used for both pop and jazz genres as well as traditional classical performances. The double violin has been commissioned by Shankar four times to date; the most recent version was created by luthier John Jordan and is available now.
DOESN’T CARE ABOUT AWARDS!
With a busy touring schedule, I spend a lot of time travelling for rehearsals and recording sessions. But I stayed with the same guy within. Because I had no intention of being famous or wealthy when I first started! I don’t care about awards and I don’t hold onto them. Everything in my storage, including platinum records, accolades and the like, is stored far away. I am just a regular man. There will always be someone better than you, therefore in order to advance, you must put in a lot of practice, dedicate time to your music, and work hard. Being at the beach, surrounded by birds and eagles, content, creative and quiet while working on your music is how my blissful weekend looks like. Usually, I work on that at my studio, which is just in front of the water. There, I occasionally have musicians perform with me and it is such a lovely place. Typically, on a tour, you don’t have plenty of time, as you will be travelling.
CHEATED WITHIN MUSIC BUSINESS
Although there are always wonderful people in the world, the music business is also full of crooks! Young musicians should frequently seek guidance if they are unsure, as they are frequently taken advantage of and the record business essentially keeps all the money while the musicians receive none. They must become knowledgeable about copyright, song registration and consulting with lawyers to ensure that they are not deceived into believing that someone else is the singer. With my music, I have also been cheated and taken advantage of a lot. These things regrettably do occur and at the time I was quite innocent and focused solely on writing, composition and music. I would like to know the opposite viewpoint. The fact that your music cannot be taken away is a plus. I consider myself to be a full-fledged musician as I have always been at ease with writing, creating, arranging, and playing the violin. Both the music and I have been served by it.
MEETING JOHN LENNON
I’ll tell you about John Lennon. I met him during George Harrison’s tour at a party at the Plaza Hotel. It was amazing to meet every single one of the stars and throngs of people that were present. This occurred following the Madison Square Garden event! We are all different sections of the same tree, which makes me feel extremely at ease with the media. They are educating the public in the same way that I am and they are also doing a fantastic job of sharing the information with the public in order to help me promote my music. They hold great significance.
CHART TOPPERS & LEGENDARY COLLABS
My talam-bending Pancha Nadai Pallavi CD from 1990 is the first traditional Indian record to hit the top ten world music chart on Billboard for three months. My 1995 album Raga Abheri received a Grammy Award nomination for Best World Music Album. I collaborated with Peter Gabriel on Peter Scorsese’s ‘The Last Temptation of Christ’ (1988) soundtrack, Mel Gibson’s ‘The Passion of the Christ’ (2004), which took home the Instrumental Album of the Year Dove Award at the 36th GMA Dove Awards and the Grammy-winning album Passion (1989). Alongside Jonathan Davis and Richard Gibbs, I recorded eight songs for the Queen of the Damned soundtrack in 2002; five of those songs were chosen for the feature. In addition, Wendy & Lisa and I worked together on the original soundtrack for the popular TV show Heroes on NBC.
MUSIC MOSAIC WITH MCLAUGHLIN
I was one among the first innovators in the 1970s to bring south Indian music to a Western audience that was then more familiar with north Indian music. My performances frequently combined Hindustani and Carnatic music and I worked with jazz artistes to close the gap between Eastern and Western musical traditions. Having the sensitivity, control, feeling and knowledge of classical Indian music combined with my comprehension of the Western music system allowed him to express the East/West fusion in music, which eventually led to the formation of the ensemble Shakti with guitarist John McLaughlin. I imparted rhythms, ragas and embellishments to McLaughlin, who in turn learned jazz and harmony. Shakti was overwhelmingly praised by critics.
LOWEST POINT OF HIS LIFE
The world stopped during the Covid pandemic, everything halted and my musical tour was cancelled, which was the lowest point. After working with numerous superstar musicians and progressive rock musicians to finish my album Chepleeri Dream, my record company informed me that I could not go on tour at this time. Nevertheless, I put the CD out. Although a lot of shows were postponed, it was the lowest point but studio work continued and the music continued.
RAPID FIRE
Your pinch-me moment of life: When I had to leave to the US for the first time, leaving my family.
The latest thing you discovered about yourself: I enjoy cooking, I’m not a great cook but it’s a peaceful time and that makes me happy.
A musician that inspires you: Elvis Presley, Palghat Mani Iyer
Proudest moment of your career: Every time I play a concert, that’s the proudest moment for me
Favourite city/country to stay in: I have lived in so many countries, but the stage is my favourite place to be
