Films not a priority for me right now: Rahul Sharma

Santoor exponent Rahul Sharma has said composing music for Hindi films was not a priority for him right now and was likely to think about it in another two years.
Rahul composed the music for one Hindi film, ‘Mujhse Dosti Karoge,’ but is not taking up similar projects as of now.
“Films are not a priority for me. I want to take the santoor ahead and to experiment with different genres of music. I have cut 40 or 41 albums so far. I was offered films after my first one, but I stuck to performances and albums. It is very difficult to strike a balance between travelling, performances and giving music to Hindi movies. I will think about composing music for films maybe in two years from now,” Rahul said in an exclusive interview with UNI here.
Rahul feels that nowadays there is no scope for music in films. “It is just a formality. It is not like in the 80’s (when music was part of a film). The lyrics have also changed. I don’t think that quality has remained,” he said, but added that he did not want to criticise the present lot of music directors.
So while fans wait to hear some quality music from him in films, Rahul will stay busy with public performances, at the Bandra Fort in Mumbai this evening (in a duet with his illustrious father Pt. Shivkumar Sharma), in Budapest (Hungary) later (March 27) and then in the US. Speaking of the US, Rahul said that there was a lot of interest in the santoor in the country. “People are aware of the santoor and want to learn to play the instrument, but there are no proper schools to impart training,” he said. Asked if he would start a school himself, Rahul said he would think about it.
Rahul, whose next album ‘Rhythm of Love’ with Ustad Zakir Hussain is due to be released in about two weeks’ time, feels that new music should be released directly on the Internet, so that there is a check on piracy to some extent, and the musician derives direct benefit (from royalties on downloads). “Music companies should make CD’s (compact discs) that cannot be copied. This will help curb piracy,” he said.
“With technology growing at a rapid pace, I think that even CD's will become obsolete in the times to come. We should be ready for the next technology,” he also said.
‘Rhythm of Love’ is a live recording of a performance that Rahul and Ustad Zakir Hussain gave at San Francisco recently. Another album, with saxophonist Kenny G, is in the pipeline. The as yet untitled album has been recorded and is due for release in about two months.
Rahul was in the city for a private performance last evening at ‘Sudesh’s Courtyard,’ an art gallery that aims to promote up and coming artists and to popularise art. As Rahul played, an artist painted along the beats and the notes to create a canvass. Rahul has earlier given a similar performance at Dubai with calligrapher Achyut Pallav.
UNI, Nagpur, February 28, 2010

Dynasties have made little dent in Vidarbha

Contrary to popular belief, political dynasties have held very little sway over the electorate in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, barring a few notable exceptions.
Among the prominent exceptions that merit mention are the Naik’s, the Gawli’s and the Wasnik’s.
The Naik family of Pusad in Yavatmal district has had a very good record in politics. Vasantrao Naik was chief minister of Maharashtra for 12 long years, the longest tenure for anyone so far. His nephew Sudhakarrao was also the chief minister from 1991 to 1993. He had to step down after the communal riots in Mumbai in the wake of the demolition of the disputed structure in Ayodhya in 1992. He later unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha election from Washim in 1996, but won in 1998. He went with the NCP when the party was formed in 1999, but Washim went to the Congress at the time. Sudhakarrao passed away later.
Sudhakarrao's younger brother Manohar has been a minister in the Maharashtra cabinet for several years, and now holds the Food and Drugs Administration portfolio. He unsuccessfully contested from Washim in 2004 as an NCP nominee.
Pundalikrao Gawali was a prominent leader, having represented Washim in the Lok Sabha. After his death, his daughter Bhawana took up the mantle, winning from Washim in 1999 and again in 2004. Incidentally, she got married a few days before the voting took place in 2004.
Balkrishna Wasnik had three terms in the Lok Sabha, from Bhandara in 1957, Gondia in 1962 and Buldhana in 1980. His son Mukul has had mixed fortunes. Having made his debut with a win from Buldhana in 1984, the junior Wasnik lost in 1989. He regained the seat in 1991, only to lose it in 1996, wrest it in 1998, only to lose it again in 1999 as well as in 2004. He was made a minister of state in the P V Narasimha Rao cabinet after he won in 1991.
Prominent leaders have tried, with very limited success, to initiate their sons into politics. Even while former Maharashtra minister Datta Meghe was in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), son Sagar joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to launch his political career. He won a term to the Maharashtra Legislative Council as a BJP nominee. Mr Meghe, once considered very close to NCP chief Sharad Pawar, later fell out with him, and quit the party to join the Congress. The junior Meghe also parted ways with the BJP and joined the Congress with his father.
Rajendra, the son of former Congress legislator Bhau Mulak, tried his hand in a civic poll several years ago, but failed. He entered the assembly from Umrer in 2004. Satish, the son of another former Congress legislator Sunil Shinde, joined the Shiv Sena and contested the assembly elections in 2004 from Katol in Nagpur district, but failed, losing to Anil Deshmukh of the NCP.
Another former Congress legislator who has been trying in vain to push his son into mainstream politics is Krishnarao Pandav. His son Kiran unsuccessfully tried his hand at civic politics several years ago. He joined the NCP when it was formed, but quit to contest from Nagpur South assembly constituency as a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) nominee in 2004, and lost. The eventual winner, Govindrao Wanjari (Congress), unfortunately died of a heart attack hours before members of the new Legislative Assembly were sworn in.
After a brief hiatus, the junior Pandav went to the Congress before coming back to the NCP. Recently, in the hope that the Congress-NCP combine would prefer a young face, Kiran filed his nomination for the by-election from Nagpur Local Self-Government Authorities constituency, a seat that had fallen vacant by the resignation of Sagar Meghe. However, his hopes were dashed and had to withdraw as the leadership decided to allow the Congress to contest the seat, and nominated senior leader Anantrao Gharad, who eventually lost.
Incidentally, Krishnarao Pandav managed to get a Congress ticket for his daughter Rajani Barde at the civic elections in Nagpur in 2007, and she is now a councillor. The Congress and NCP did not have an alliance at this election, and there were complaints against Kiran from a section of NCP workers that he had worked against the party’s interests.
Speaking of Govindrao Wanjari, in the by-election from Nagpur South after his death, his son Abhijeet tried in vain to get a ticket from the Congress. He contested as an independent, only to lose.
The Deshmukh family of Katol in Nagpur district, however, has had a pretty good run in politics. Cousins Ranjit and Anil have been ministers in the Maharashtra cabinet. Ranjit Deshmukh, who was once President of Nagpur Zilla Parishad (ZP), has held several portfolios, including irrigation. Anil Deshmukh has had a spectacular run in politics. Like his cousin, Anil was also President of Nagpur ZP before he jumped into the fray for the assembly elections in 1995. He won as an independent from Katol, and was made minister of state for cultural affairs in the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance government. In 1999, Anil joined the NCP and won another term, retaining his berth in the cabinet. He won again in 2004, and was made a minister again, only to be dropped during the recent change of guard in Maharashtra in the wake of the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai.
And Kamal Gavai, wife of veteran politician and former Maharashtra Legislative Council chairman R S Gavai, tried in vain to enter the Lok Sabha from their hometown Amravati in 1980.

(UNI, Nagpur, March 12, 2009)

A 'simple and studious' bride for Dravid

Imagine a cricketer being bowled over by a girl totally oblivious to the intricacies of the game! That's what has happened to Rahul Dravid, vice-captain of the Indian cricket team.
Dr. Vijeta Pendharkar, 27, has 'snared' Rahul, among the most dependable batsmen in the game today. However, the bride-to-be has little knowledge of the game.
"Vijeta has absolutely no interest in and no knowledge of cricket," her parents, father Wing Commander (Retired) S. P. Pendharkar and mother Jayashree, a dietician, said.
In fact, Vijeta did not even know that the wicketkeeper had to change ends after every over. "It was only when she watched some matches during the recent World Cup in South Africa that she came to know of the practice," Pendharkar said.
Although cricket does not interest her, Vijeta probably watched some games to know what her future hubby does 'at work'.
Vijeta has had a 'mixed' upbringing. She spent her early childhood at various places in the country where her father was posted during his stint in the Indian Air Force, giving her a 'forces' background. Her father retired after she passed her Class X examination from Bal Bharati school in Delhi. The family then settled down in Nagpur, and Vijeta has been leading a typical 'upper middle-class' life since.
She continued her education at the prestigious Shri Shivaji Science college in Nagpur, known to produce meritorious students. True to the institution's tradition, Vijeta came out with flying colours and faced no problems getting into the Government Medical College in the city. She went on to earn her MS (General) from the same institution in November 2002.
The Pendharkars are proud of the fact that their only daughter, the youngest of three children, got through purely on merit.
"Her scores were such that she faced no problems whatsoever," said the beaming father.
Sarita Kulkarni, a former schoolmate, described Vijeta as a simple and studious girl.
"Vijeta has had a very simple upbringing with high moral standards," according to a medicine school classmate who preferred to remain anonymous.
The sudden attention from the media appears to have flustered Vijeta's family. Her parents are trying their best to protect her privacy, even declining to reveal minor details like Vijeta's hobbies. Vijeta herself is unwilling to step into the spotlight, which she is soon going to have to share with Rahul. The Pendharkars are keeping nosey scribes politely at bay; in fact, at the door itself.
Jayashree, the concerned mother, explains: "We don't want to gain too much publicity. I am not sure Rahul's family, especially Vijeta's mother-in-law, would approve."
Unlike Rahul, Vijeta may not be able to tell a yorker apart from a googly, but is happy dreaming about the future. For now, she plans to start her surgeon's practice in Bangalore, and hopes to do well.
The Pendharkars and Dravids have known each other for long, over 35 years now. Pendharkar worked in Bangalore between 1968 and 1971, and that is when the friendship crystallised. Later, Rahul's father, Sharad, worked for a while in Nagpur.
Vijeta's co-students in medicine school remember being aware of her family's close ties with Rahul's family. They also recall that Rahul would make it a point to meet Vijeta whenever it was possible.
So is it a love marriage, after all? The Pendharkars parry the question with broad smiles.
How did the match come about?
"Rahul is a thorough gentleman. Who wouldn't want to have him as his son-in-law," Pendharkar says.
Even the traditional considerations were favourable, as Vijeta's mother Jayashree revealed: "The Dravids are from Indore/Gwalior, and are Maharashtrian Deshastha Brahmins."
However, a date has not yet been fixed for the marriage because of "Rahul's uncertain schedule", Vijeta's father informed.
Pendharkar dismissed as "sheer speculation" reports in a section of the press in Nagpur that Rahul has not yet given his assent to the proposed alliance with Vijeta.
"The marriage was finalised over two months ago. Rahul has given his consent," he says, and then bowls a dot ball: "Why else would Vijeta have been watching Rahul in action during the World Cup in South Africa?"
(Rediff.com, April 2, 2003)