‘I have been playing santoor for 45 years, my hard work’s finally paid off’

NAGPUR: Seventy-two-year-old santoor player Walmik Dhande, recipient of this year’s Rajya Sanskrutik Puraskar for instrumental music, feels that his efforts in mastering the instrument have finally paid off. For someone who started off as a tabla player and mastered santoor with lots of effort and study, this award is an acknowledgement of his skills with the instrument. “It is very encouraging as this award motivates me to continue my work in this field,” Walmik, a disciple of Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma, said while talking to TOI. Excerpts from an interview...
Where you expecting this award and what does it mean to you?

I was not expecting it at all and was pleasantly surprised when I got a call from the Directorate of Culture. I have no idea who else has received it before me, but I am happy to be one of the recipients. I have been playing santoor for the last 45 years and now feel that my hard work has paid off. The award ceremony is on March 3 in Mumbai. I will visit my guru Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma to seek his blessings before receiving the award.

You were an accomplished tabla player then why did you also learn to play santoor?

I have tried my hand at various instruments like harmonium and banjo too besides learning tabla from Manikrao Popatkar. I left Nagpur in 1966 to pursue a course in textile designing at JJ School of Arts. But after competing the course, I worked for barely six months in a textile mill and left my job to pursue tabla. In Mumbai, I took training from Pt Samta Parsad and began accompanying musicians on tabla in 1969. It was in 1972 that I got to play at a concert of Parveen Sultana and later accompanied Ustad Amjad Ali Khan on a tour to Hong Kong. I have also performed along with Mallikarjun Mansoor, Pt Jitendra Abhishekhi, Pt Kartik Kumar and many others. I have always liked the sound of santoor, so decided to play it as after performing with so many musicians, I began to understand the raagas too.

How did you train yourself to play santoor?

Santoor has taal and sur and I knew both. A disciple of Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma used to stay in my building in Mumbai and I learnt the technique of playing the instrument from him and worked hard on it for a couple of years. Then I approached Pt Shiv Kumar who liked the way I was playing santoor. He took me as a disciple and I learnt from him for four years. There is a lot of laykaari in santoor which I know and understand as I have been a tabla player too.

When did you return to Nagpur and did this city offer you opportunities to perform?

I returned to Nagpur in 1996. People had known me as a tabla player and so it took me seven years to get the word across through my programmes aired on Akashvani that I was now playing santoor also. My first solo performance in the city was in 1998. This city prefers to hear performers who come from outside. I have never been invited by Saptak or SCZCC to perform at their events and have never been a part of Kalidsas Mahotsav. It was only last year that I was a part of an event at Kalidas Mahotsav in which many other musicians were performing. In fact, the local chapter of SPICMACAY too has never asked me to give a lecture demonstration. My performances have been mostly outside the city.

Are you making any effort to promote the instrument in this city?

I have four to five students who are learning from me. I also have a few Russian students. Santoor is an expensive instrument as it costs more than Rs25,000. So, not everybody can afford it. Besides, it is also difficult to tune as it has 100 strings.