Kashmir has been a great influence...

Chat Transcript of Rahul Sharma. He with his father Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma have been my fav for long time now. I just love their compositions. Rahul has added the current trend in his compositions which are just fabulous.

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Rahul Sharma
instrumentalist

"Kashmir has been a great influence in my music"

Hilton> How does it feel after releasing 32 albums?

Rahul Sharma> The number of albums is not that important. It's the content and quality of music which holds more value for the musician and his listeners.

Hilton> When are planning to work with Yash Chopra, like your father?
Rahul Sharma> I have already done the music for Mujse dosti karoge with Yash Chopra. And I was also offered Hum Tum by him but I could not accept the offer as I am a traveling musician and playing at concert holds more importance to me. But I look forward to working with Aditya Chopra sometime soon.

Natsuhiko> What does the song Time Traveler signify?

Rahul Sharma> Time Traveler is very much what I am. I travel around the globe to play my music and have always been fascinated by science fiction themes. So it's a combination of both put together.

Trupti7> We at "Santoor fans" (Canada), welcome you...

Rahul Sharma> A big hello to all the "Santoor fans" And keep up the great work. How is the weather in the new found land?

Raya> What inspired you to compose WHITE?

Rahul Sharma> White means a lot to me. White is ethereal, pure and the sign of peace. I was also always fascinated by snowfall which I have seen in Kashmir.

Rutuja_Padwal> How was Rahul Sharma as a kid?

Rahul Sharma> I was very shy as a kid. A passive student who was caught several times changing his report card.

Deep_Bond> It is said that music doesn't follow any boundaries. You have performed all over the globe. How has been your experience so far?

Rahul Sharma> It's a very humbling experience to get an opportunity to play all over the globe. It's true that music is a universal language because you connect instantly with people from difference nationalities. Like the Portuguese song my latest album "White" Although people may not understand the language but the feelings and emotions get conveyed easily.

Baggy_Pants> Your father is a music maestro. Did you ever feel over shadowed by his towering image?

Rahul Sharma> Yes I did when I started off. To play the same instrument in which my father has become a legend was like taking up a challenge. But it was he who believed that I could prove myself and that's the reason why he started teaching me.

Trupti7> Where was the video for "Time Traveler" shot? It was a great video.

Rahul Sharma> It was shot in Bangkok. The credit goes to the director, Shiraz and do look out for the second video which is called "Manzillein" which will be on air soon.

Bold_Steps> Your compositions have a distinct flavor of the Kashmir Valley. It's beauty, diversity of language, custom, values and traditions. Is it a conscious effort? Why has the Kashmir Valley influenced you so much?

Rahul Sharma> Kashmir has been a great influence in my music. More so because the santoor belongs to Kashmir and I have always loved the folk music this valley. And of course Kashmir is one of the most beautiful places on earth and it's very inspiring.

Baggy_Pants> You won the MTV Immies award for the best World Music album for your album "Zen" Tell us what inspired that album? Were you expecting such an applauding response?

Rahul Sharma> No I was not. Zen was totally inspired by Osho's philosophy. I have read several of Osho's books and I think they have helped me in a big way great in making my life less complicated. I believe that music should not only for relaxation but should have a deeper meaning. Moreover I try and create a philosophy through my music.

Bold_Steps> You have given the santoor (a traditional classical instrument) a face lift by merging it with other musical instruments and languages. What inspired this interesting combination?

Rahul Sharma> In spite of my training in Indian classical music I try and offer a amalgamation of world and Indian classical music together. When on stage I stick to the pure version. But in my albums I love to experiment since I listen to a lot of world music and that brings in a lot of young listeners.

Raya> What do the words in your sound track "Snowfall" mean?

Rahul Sharma> Its in Portuguese and its basically expressing how beautiful the colour white looks when it snows and all other things connected to white. White also means the science of consciousness.

Trupti7> The album "Confluence" was a really different concept. What was it like working with Richard Clayderman?

Rahul Sharma> Piano and santoor make a very interesting combination and both are happy and romantic in mood. If you open up the piano from inside you will see that the metal keys are struck by hammers just like the santoor with wooden strikers. So the piano has evolved out of a string instrument, very much like the santoor . It was a greet experience working and composing the album with Richard. In fact we have already begun work on "Confluence" part II.

Artiahc> If we want to learn santoor then, how should we go about it? Are there learning have schools in India?

Rahul Sharma> We are planning open such a school in Mumbai and I am also planning to hold a demo for santoor students on my website www.rahulsantoor.com.

Alka_Jayaswal> When are you going to settle down?

Rahul Sharma> I prefer to be a bachelor because I am having lot of fun being alone and having no invasions in my privacy. But if I meet someone who has beautiful eyes and inspires me totally, I may think of settling down.

Raya> I really loved your album "White."; purity and bliss. Can I know your favourite food and season?

Rahul Sharma> I love Chinese food and my favourite season is winter. That's the reason "White" the album begins with January and ends with December.

Sign off Message> Thank you very much for all your questions and your time and I look forward to the encouragement so that I can give you all better music. Love Rahul.

Thanks Big B,

Any of you can upload some of his composition links ? I am an great fan of his fathers, but I dont recollect having heard any of his compositions.

He sounds more of a fusion artist.Is that what he is?

Originally posted by: adi_0112

Any of you can upload some of his composition links ? I am an great fan of his fathers, but I dont recollect having heard any of his compositions.

He sounds more of a fusion artist.Is that what he is?

here's both info Adi.click below to listen to him playing.

Raag Kalavati

and here's his profile.

Thanks for the chat transcript. Posted Rahul Sharma's recent interview a few days ago: The inheritors: Young musicians

Originally posted by: Barnali

here's both info Adi.click below to listen to him playing.

Raag Kalavati

Thanks Di,

Wow my evening made... one more to add to my collection...thanks to both of you...He is indeed amazing...just listened to it.👏

Rahul Sharma

Music of the Himalayas

Real World

A better title for this album would be "music of Jammu and Kashmir," since it focuses almost exclusively on the traditional folk and Sufyana musics of that region at the crossroads of the Middle East and South Asia. The santoor, a stringed instrument played with curved wooden sticks, has a sound akin to that of the hammered dulcimer, and like the dulcimer was long thought of as mainly a folk instrument. But Rahul's father, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, almost single-handedly achieved acceptance for the santoor in Hindustani (North Indian) classical music through his brilliant playing. Now Rahul is becoming an acknowledged master of the santoor, which has become one of the most important instruments in Kashmiri music. For this live recording from a festival in Italy, Rahul is joined by Ustad Shafat Ahmed Khan on tabla and Pandit Bhawani Shankar on various folk percussion instruments.

Although the santoor has many similarities to a dulcimer -- both combine strings and percussion, for instance, marrying elements of melody and rhythm in the same instrument -- the santoor's range is much wider (Rahul's santoor has 89 strings), and its sound sweeter. On "Maqam-e-Navaa," which draws on Sufi-inspired folk melodies, Rahul's santoor sends notes swirling upward like incense and rushing down like crystal streams into pristine mountain valleys. The feeling of this track is bright and pure, the essence of nature and spirit expressed in musical form. Unfolding at its own easy pace, refreshingly unhurried, "Melody Of Kashmir" paints a joyous vision of green fields, blue skies, gentle breezes, warm sun, shining eyes, and laughter. The santoor's notes cascade and shimmer, opening out into a very funky jam with tabla and other percussion later on, like a dancer spinning with their head thrown back, clothes whirling all around, pure ecstasy in music and motion.

The last two tracks, "Melody of Jammu and Kashmir" and "Melody of Kashmir in Contemporary Music," were both composed by Rahul himself. The latter is a 35-minute showcase for the santoor, as well as for Rahul's accompanists; occasionally it feels a bit self-indulgent, like the long solos taken by jazz or rock musicians at the end of a live show, but is still quite enjoyable -- especially the thundering drums and the second, more introspective, section for the santoor, which feels like the slow, soothing approach of eventide. "Melody of Jammu and Kashmir" moved me deeply, from its slow and simple beginning, like the first tentative caresses of a lover, to the frequent conversational exchanges between santoor and drums, at times hushed, then surging with passion, just like love itself.

Real World Records: http://www.realworldusa.com Rahul Sharma: http://rahulsharma.santoor.com

Dave Aftandilian

Thanks Dada for starting the thread on Top 100 Handsome Indian Men,

Rahul Sharma.

Rahul Sharma
DOB: 1972
Genre Hindustani
Instrument Santoor

http://rahulsharma.santoor.com/video2.html