We spent the last day of 2015 under a spell. His concert was scheduled for 4 pm at Narada Gana Sabha and we had the tickets already since we had come early in the morning to get the tickets for this concert and the next day’s concert.
We went out for a walk to the Marina beach on Dec 31st and on our way back we got into Narada Gana Sabha, yes, we ate breakfast at the Gnanambiga canteen 🙂 and then got the tickets. The same O to R rows cost us ₹300 for his concert and ₹500 for Vishakha Hari’s program the next day. We ate lunch at home and got back to Narada Gana Sabha before 4 pm.
The musician seemed rather young and he had some six different flutes next to him. He started the concert sharp at 4 pm and as he played the first note, everyone sat up because we knew we were in the presence of a master flautist. Shashank interacted easily with the audience, asking them about the volume and which raga to play, also sharing what composition he was playing. A few minutes after he started playing we saw Sanjay Subramanyam and his wife come into the auditorium and they sat on the first row listening to him.
Legend says that when the Pied Piper of Hamlein played on his pipe, all the rats followed him and when he was not paid his dues, he lured away the children of the village. The children were drawn to the sounds and music he created on his pipe. You get a sense of that when you listen to Shashank playing the flute. He could just make you follow him out of the hall if he chose to :).
Again the audience strength did not do justice to his massive talent … But he is a child prodigy and was unaffected. He probably would have played the same way even if he was playing just for himself all alone. Shashank is someone we are definitely following up on and will listen to his compositions. Under the spell …
