World ambassador of Indian classical music

Those who had a pleasure of attending a concert of young debonair classical music
exponent Kumar Sunil Mungee in Nagpur on November 6 must remember the evening for years ahead. Sunil’s melodious voice and energetic presence on the stage captivated the audience for hours at CP Club Lawns. However, those who missed this unique opportunity to see this young ‘International’ artist, have missed the performance of ‘future maestro’ for sure. Chaitanyya Deshpande had an exclusive informal chat with Sunil who was on his way to the concert.

Learning from legend
Sunil, who hails from Indore, started learning music when he was five. He accepted the traditional ‘Guru-Shishya Parampara’ to start his journey in the field of music, wherein the pupil stays with his Guru and undergoes rigorous training. Sunil stayed with his Guru Padma Shri Late Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki, a maestro of Indian music, for over 15 years. “Rightly said, Sangeet is a Gurumukhi vidya. The training needs devotion, dedication, and complete surrender,” said Sunil. “It was strict, still careful. We had to start with Tanpura before 4 O’clock in the morning. The practice used to continue day-long, sometimes even after 10 in the night. We used to strive for hours to find one perfect ‘sur’,” expressed Sunil. No need to tell, this devotion enabled him to keep his voice ‘fit’ even during his travel around the globe while enjoying all the cuisines.

Going global
The ‘highlight’ of Sunil’s career is his selection as an international vocalist by United States of America. As per its national policy, USA selects one excellent artist from all over the world and offers citizenship to the artist. With the use of their well placed sources, USA selects an artist, under 30 years of age. He must have performed in 15 countries, and must have over 50 newspaper reviews on his performances. Moreover, his name must be recommended by a Senator. No artist can approach personally to any Senator for recommendation. It is the matter of pride for all Indians as Sunil was selected amongst 24,843 artists from various countries for this rare honour. He accepted the NRI status in 1999, with a soul aim of spreading the fragrance of real Indian Music.
Today, he performs from the East to the West Coast of the USA, in UK, Switzerland, The Netherlands, UAE, Australia and African continents besides India. Sunil makes an effort for the western audience to understand, experience and appreciate the rich, traditional and ancient Indian Classical music. A habitual reader, Sunil is presently working on a book which highlights the journey of an artist, musician.

International audience
Today, Sunil has become the torch-bearer of the tradition to promote the music of India. He has over 400 concerts to his credit. Sunil strongly believes in quality of music and thus has a tremendous fan-following all over the globe. When asked about non-Indian audiences’ response, he said, they are very enthusiastic and open-minded.
“We have to provide a little written material to them and they start enjoying all Ragaas, and Sargams. I used to interact with my audience and tell them the facts about classical music in simple tounge, avoiding technicalities. This serves my purpose to entertain them with my art,” said Sunil with all smiles.

Performing with Icons
Sunil’s association with Bhajan Samrat Anup Jalota and Ghazal legend Ghulam Ali, is famous on international stage. He excels in both these forms of Indian classical music. “I strived to learn Ghazals and Bhajans as these forms attract even those who don’t know the technicalities of classical music. I consider myself fortunate as I perform with the icons of these forms,” said Sunil. He informed about the musical concert ‘Generations’, in which all the three exponents perform spontaneously, without any prior script. “Response to this concert is simply overwhelming all over the world. I hope the same will be held in India very soon,” he expects.

Maintaining ‘Indianness’
Saying that our music relates directly to spirituality, Sunil strongly opposed the common tendency of Indians to westernise themselves. He said, there is no point in comparing these two completely different music forms. According to him, both are unique music forms and should not be compared. Indians must preserve our uniqueness. Sunil’s fluency in Hindi and Marathi was noticeable during the conversation. “No need to speak in English when we understand Hindi or Marathi,” he said.

Glorious grooming
As an effort to be a step bridge between music and inclusion of newer talents to music, Sunil conducts various seminars and music workshops, wherein he grooms youngsters with teachings of traditional and basic learning of music. “I never use the word ‘Students’, but I call them ‘Colleagues’,” he said adding that one who worships ‘Sangeet’, forgetting all the worldly affairs, gets spiritual satisfaction.