Decoding the inner vision

Blindness may pose as an obstacle to our day-to-day lives, but when is one empowered with an extraordinary talent of communicating through music, you don’t need sight to see. And for British musician Baluji Shrivastav OBE, the case is no different. In his career spanning over 35 years, the Indian origin musician has never considered his blindness as a drawback; perhaps it is his extraordinary talents that add rhythm to his life.

Baluji is skilled in playing a variety of traditional Indian musical instruments and on his fifth visit to India will bring the concept of Antardrishti - Inner Vision, which is primarily based on the Indian Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad Gita.

The musician explains the 11th chapter of the scripture, which talks about King Dhritarashtra — also blind — and the conversations between Krishna and Arjuna on his dilemma to fight against his family.

It was Krishna’s sagacity that helped Arjun take a stand and fight against injustice. “I chose Bhagavad Gita because the chapter talks about king Dhritarashtra and Arjuna’s inner vision which was imparted to him by Lord Krishna. And we all blind performers are working towards finding our inner vision,” says Baluji.

Out of 19 team members Baluji has four Indian musicians. And as the concept is deeply rooted in Indian mythology, synching the performance wasn’t easy. However, for Baluji, music is all about communicating and creating harmony. “Music is a way of communication, though we don’t see each other but we can hear it,” he smiles.

The maestro explains the process of being in tune during the performance, as it requires understanding of the Indian concept of sum (zero), which helps other musician to understand when one has finished his part.

Having spent most of his life in London, the musician further points out a unique difference between the two music worlds. While according to the Indian concept music is to listen to, the western trend believes in seeing the music.

He says, “We believe in improvisation and hearing the music. So the best way to do music for blind people is to hear and then communicate,” he explains, adding, “An already composed music doesn’t have much challenges but its improvisation has. So once we start practicing we know where to stop.”

Taking up an Indian concept and making music with western musicians can certainly be challenging, as it takes longer than usual for the visually impaired performer to understand the compositions. But, Baluji believes music is universal and there is no one better than a blind man who can play music well. “I want to present to the world that Indian compositions can be played and communicated by western musicians,” he gushes.

The multi-instrumentalist’s upcoming music, dance, and audio-visual performance today at the Opera House, is an amalgamation of Indian and Western music, which is given a unique interpretation by the blind musicians.  

“Blind people can play beautiful music, better than the normal people at times. They present music in such a way that it will make the audience understand the concept of inner vision without many apprehensions,” he assures.

—Today, Antardrishti — Inner Voice, Opera House, 6pm onwards