Down memory lane...




Yogesh Thaker with his Hawaiiyan Guitar (Pic by Tushar Naidu)

 

The Orange City re-experienced the iconic orchestration of Yogesh Thaker on Saturday, June 4, 2011, after a gap of more than a decade. The Master of Singing Strings once again created magic with his trademark Hawaiian guitar. He was also presented Lifetime Achievement Award on the occasion. A day prior to accepting this Award, the man who ruled Central India’s entertainment scenario for more than thirty years, walked down memory lane...

“I dont have a guitar now.” When Yogesh Thaker says this, one feels as if the Sun is saying that it has no light or the spring refuses to bloom. The man, who enjoyed an absolute monopoly in the field of music for more than thirty years; the musician who created an indelible impact on the minds of thousands of music-lovers; and the guitarist whose tunes still hypnotize generations just on a recall; has been away from his identity — his guitar for more than a decade. But how long can the artist keep himself away from his art? And how long will his fans allow him to remaim isolated?

“It was a surprise, rather a pleasant one, when they (organisers of the felicitation function) requested me to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award,” says Thaker who believes that whatever he achieved is just a small contribution to the vast field of music. Performing nearly 3500-odd jam-packed musical shows across the Central India, UP, and West Bengal for more than 30 years; and being the rare exponent of the comparatively complicated Hawaiian Guitar, is a ‘small’ contribution for him.

“They insisted on a performance on the day, and I picked up the guitar for one more time,” says Thaker, who is practising for the event. “I am not sure how it (the performance) will be. I am apprenehsive, rather somewhat nervous. Things have changed now,” he says, commenting on the current musical scene.

“I find sound everywehere, but not music. Everyone is a ‘self-proclaimed expert’ these days and youngsters are least interested in practise sessions,” he laments, recalling how his team used to rehearse for eight to ten hours to set a single song. “This is why, music is losing its soul. Commercialisation is everywhere. But, how can you commercialise art?,” he wonders!

The reason behind the short-lived compositions, and easy-to-forget songs, according to him, is lack of sincearity in musicians. “Sab Ek Sath Bajaoge to Woh Bandbaja hai, Orchestra Nahi,” he remarks. Orchastra, for him, is symphony.

“I used to attend concerts all over India and share the stage with legends like Manna Dey and Naushad. The sincerity and serenity I experienced those days is nowhere now,” recalls the man who was never interested in leaving Nagpur and joining the ‘Mumbai Industry’ for commercial success. “My art is for my art,” he asserts firmly.

However, everything is not the same for the musician who enjoys listening to Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Vishal Shekhar. “Music is for lifetime. It is not a temporary job. Hence, when I did music, I did only music, and when I started looking after my family business, I quit music,” he says.

After quitting the orchestra scene, people then saw him at rare appearances, mostly for charity shows. More than a decade passed, but no one forgot the magic he used to create.

So, when Yogesh Thaker says, “I don’t have a guitar now,” it means, his guitar is still playing in thousands of hearts. How could it be with him now ?

Or, perhaps, does he need a reminder -- that he may quit playing it, but the guitar would not leave him! 

(Cutting of the same article published in The Hitavada on June 4, 2011)