The seed for this musical idea was sown when I was in my early 20's. I was greatly attracted and inspired when I heard legendary musicians like Jimmy Hendricks, Chick Corea, Stephan Grappelli, Yehudi Menuhin, MS Gopalakrishnan, N.Rajam, John Maclaughlin, L Shankar, Zakir Hussain, Vikku and many more. What was so special about their music was that there was so much of virtuosity and versatility in their performance and personality.
When I wanted to replicate that in the music that I was pursuing, I felt a vacuum in expressing such an experience. It was all about reproducing a philosophical thought. I felt a disconnect and there was an urge in me to create a piece to express my feeling, my experience, my skill as a musical expression - something where I could challenge myself.
I also heard - flights of the bumblebee - a famous composition in the western musical form. All this was inside me as a churning process and stayed with me through this journey.
The germination of the idea started a few years back. This composition ( a garland of ragas - raga - a musical scale), naturally moving from one raga to another, is a journey from one musical moment to another - from one raga to another. I fine-tuned and changed a few phrases to make it more meaningful as a composition and also create some challenging passages to make it a fulfilling experience. Everything and every moment of this musical expression has been intuitive including the final climax. Just a natural flow.
After the completion, I was looking for a name. Coming from the background of a culture, steeped in the concept “Aham bramhasmai “ as a way of life, this had to be dedicated to somebody who stretched their boundaries. Anjaneya is the name that came to my mind, he is the first among all the superhumans that we know and worship. All of us are a reflection of Anjaneya in our own way, moving through this beautiful experience of life, facing challenges, conquering our own set boundaries, and devotees in our own way.
My dreams, My expressions, My expansions, My experience and My musical joy is represented in this musical flight
“ Flights of Anjaneya “ ……
dedicated to all those, who are free-spirited and are stretching their boundaries again and again.
I am sure there are many youngsters who would feel like the way I feel and I wish them all the very best !!!