Mohan Veena’s exponent Polly Varghese on her musical journey post-pandemic, abandons a teaching career and collaborations in the US
Mohan Veena’s exponent Polly Varghese on her musical journey post-pandemic, abandons a teaching career and collaborations in the US
A musical instrument that required years of practice to mellow down to a decent enough tune can be considered a chronicler in an era of instant gratification and fame. But for Pauli Varghese, one of the few players of the Mohan Veena, to master it completely has been the aim of life.
Beginning his musical journey through the Mridangam in Kerala Kalamandalam, Pauli Varghese was inspired to take up the Mohan Veena, which plays the Hawaiian guitar, sarod, sitar, sarangi and santoor after watching the performances of Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt. Combines, who made the musical instrument.
However, the days of COVID-19 outbreak have been tough for Polly Varghese. After receiving an offer to teach at a university there and collaborating with a few bands, he was all set to relocate to the United States. But the pandemic put an end to the plans. After suffering a heart attack, the 51-year-old musician had to cut back on his practice again. His recent performance in Thiruvananthapuram was his first physical concert after the pandemic.
“After the US plan was cancelled, I shifted from Chennai to a secluded house near the forests in Wayanad. For about a year and a half, I rehearsed, composed new compositions and performed in online concerts. But, when I was on my first sat down for a physical concert, there was some fear, because after angioplasty, I felt like a new person. The state of mind of the listeners has also changed now with the worry about the virus in their mind. However, I managed to play for an extended period and it was good,” says Polly Varghese.
During the pandemic period, he collaborated with salsa musicians from Cuba, musicians from the jungles of the Amazon and a group of Iranian and Moroccan musicians for the Moroccan radio station project. He is also working on his next album as well as collaborations with tribal musicians from Wayanad.
role of guru
For Polly Varghese, the only model before her has always been her mentor, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, with whom she keeps in touch on a regular basis. His first public performance came after more than 14 years of rigorous practice, five of which were in a gurukul at Bhatt’s home in Rajasthan.
“My mentor comes from North Indian musical culture. He may teach me anatomy or composition of composition, but after that whatever I play is my own music, influenced by my own cultural understanding, political point of view etc. But… so, whatever I produce will be a spontaneous amalgamation of all of these,” says Mr. Varghese.
Though the Mohan Veena is a part of his life, Pauli Varghese is against worshiping and giving an exalted status to any musical instrument.
“In the Indian context, a high status is given to certain types of instruments, especially those associated with classical music. We need to understand that it is just a medium or a machine that we use to express our feelings. We have to maintain it. Like we do a cutting plier, which should not rust to ensure that it cuts effectively,” says Polly Varghese.