Ghatam artiste Giridhar Udupa on his solo album and playing alongside Zakir Hussain

“We spoke about Zakir bhai just last week and now he is no more. It is hard to believe,” says Giridhar Udupa. The son of legendary mridangam artiste Ullur Nagendra Udupa, Giridhar is also known as Ghatam Giridhar or Ghatam Udupa. While we were discussing his performance at the recently-concluded Echoes of Earth festival, he talked about his musical journey.

He recalled how his dream was to play with Zakir Hussain; a dream which came true in February last year. “For over 20 years, I wished for a chance to play in concert with Zakir bhai; I often dreamt we performed together only to wake up and realise it wasn’t so.“

“Then, when I got to know we were finally going to perform together, all I hoped for was not to get overwhelmed by the realisation my dream was coming true. I was close to tears every time I thought of it, but by the day of the concert I was able to work through my emotions and he made me feel at ease on stage. Still, performing with Zakir bhai was the ultimate thing and that concert was phenomenal.”

Giridhar Udupa with Zakir Hussain
| Photo Credit:
Rabinandan Govravarjanam

“He is probably the only musician who would have a sold out show anywhere in the world, not just India. Nobody comes close enough to second that boast. His passing is a loss to the world of music.”

Zakir was part of the Udupa Music Festival in February this year, his last concert in Bengaluru. “He loved playing in Bangalore. He’d always say the audiences here were the best,” remembers Giridhar.

Zakir has been associated with the Udupa family for a long time and Giridhar himself developed a bond with him over the past 20 years. “He was an amazing person who had the gift of making anyone feel comfortable. The music world was in awe of him but he was kind to everyone who approached him for a photograph or autograph, asking their names or their interests, making a connect even if it was for a brief moment.”

“He made me feel comfortable on the stage with him, he was an amazing human being.”

All in the family

The ghatam is a traditional South Indian percussion instrument, and Gridhar had the blessing of an early start, courtesy his father. “I started learning from the age of four, thanks to my father, my guru, my mentor Ullur Nagendra Udupa. One evening, my father had organised a concert and asked me to play the ghatam. That was my first concert and I was only nine years old.”

Since then, Giridhar has been performing Carnatic and Hindustani classical music, and over the years has had the good fortune to play alongside some of India’s greatest musicians ranging from Zakir , Hari Prasad Chaurasia and Pandit Jasraj to Shankar Mahadevan and other contemporary names.

Sandhya Udupa
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Needless to say, Giridhar has a wealth of charming anecdotes to share about the doyens of Indian classical music or the global events he has been a part of, but what set apart Echoes was the debut of his eight-year-old son Samarth, who was one of the eight ghatam players on stage with Giridhar. “We had a stellar lineup of musicians from Bangalore including a singer, violin player, flautist and drummer as well as musicians on the bass guitar and keyboard. It was a presentation of the classical and traditional with a contemporary approach and classical dance,” says Giridhar.

The classical dance was a Bharatnatyam performance by none other than Sandhya Udupa, Giridhar’s wife. “We’ve been married 10 years but this is the first time we got an opportunity to perform together,” he laughs, adding, “Echoes wanted a Bharatnatyam dancer and Sandhya who has a busy schedule of her own, was free too. That is how it all fell into place.”

Facing your first audience can be daunting — a concert crowd even more than an intimate soiree. I ask Giridhar how he prepped Samarth. “I simply passed on what I recevied from my father who never put any pressure on me. He had told me “Just enjoy whatever you are doing,” and that is what I told Samarth.”

“I’ve always felt performing our music is a way of sharing our happiness, and “the more you share, the more there is” has long been my motto. I also told Samarth not to worry about what would happen, whether he would make a mistake. Everybody makes mistakes and that is the last thing he should think about. Just ‘enjoy this journey, play happily and keep practising’ is what I’ve told him.

Cover of Giridhar’s solo album
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Breaking new ground

Giridhar’s Ghatam Udupa Collective has been touring India for the past seven years now and at Echoes, they presented a traditional Carnatic piece with new arrangements as two tracks from his first solo album. The album titled, My Name is Giridhar Udupa, was released in November and comprises six tracks.

My Name is Giridhar Udupa was produced by German electronic musician Sam Shackleton. “I don’t believe there have been too many concerts with the ghatam and electronic music. Though there may have be a few fusion productions with North Indian artistes, I don’t think any other South Indian percussion player has done anything with electronic music. My Name is Giridhar Udupa has New Age electronic music and Carnatic rhythm.”

My Name is Giridhar Udupa is streaming on all digital platforms