Infusing musical influences both from the East and the West, Singh’s improvisations are not only a treat for the maverick musicians but also a delight for the purists.
“He’s a national treasure,” said octogenarian cultural expert Satya Mohan Joshi during a felicitation program and his concert organized by the Flute Foundation of Nepal on Saturday at the Yala Maya Kendra of Patan to honor Manose. “He isn’t just a musician but a preserver and promoter of our culture.”
With a plan to release yet another solo album, the felicitation venue also converged into a live recording session. Along with the tabla maestro Navin Gurung and his protégé Umesh Pundit, the Yala Maya Kendra was engulfed in a blanket of serenity. The flutist’s mastery in eastern ragas and western influences merged together to produce mellifluous hymns that could not only purify our souls but indeed charm the divinities themselves.
The comment –“The sound of Manose’s flutes are the voices of gods. There’s a direct link. If you’re open to it, they’ll speak through him” – came from John Densmore, the drummer extraordinaire of The Doors. What he said seems an exaggeration until you listen to his euphonies.
Born on January 10,, 1979 in the foothills Boudhanath, Manose says, “I heard the flute at the age of 8 and ever since have been engulfed by it.” Taking up the woodwind instrument from the age of 10, Manose Singh has achieved what his friends and family called “an impossible feat” – that is, making flute cool!
“Music, especially classical, was considered to be an extinct genre in my generation,” says he. “But no one knew or ever wanted to know the profound sensuality and power of this art,” he says.
With four solo albums under his belt and contributions to the likes of Deva Premal, Grammy-nominated Jai Uttal, Peter Rowan, and John Densmore of the Doors, he says, “I never considered my music as music but humble prayers to Lord Shiva; and whenever I play, I play for Him.”
So the first thing that he always tries is to play at the Kiranteshwor shrine of Pashupatinath Temple by the Bagmati River in Kathmandu as soon as he sets foot in Nepal.
“Of all the places that I’ve played in the world, Kiranteshwor still is the place very close to my world. No other place is as sacred as Kiranteshwor to play my sacred instrument,” he says.
Working with many musicians, he says he wants to establish flute as an international instrument but “without compromising the purity of the instrument.” Inspired by Jazz, Rock and Bluegrass, Manose is our very own Ian Anderson but minus the hyperactive fiascos.
Living in the United States for some years now, Manose also reveals that 1974 A.D – the group with which he has had been associated for a number of years – hasn’t been disbanded yet and “though Firoz [Syangden] is taking a couple of years off, we’ll soon be going on a tour this year and are also planning for an album.”
And his own solo album will be coming out later this year.
Regardless of whom he plays with, Manose says that he plays for the deities and will remain true to the eastern ragas that he cultivated from his childhood. While many musicians can entertain, there are only a few who can touch our souls. It is Manose’s “holistic sounds” that can heal the soul. In his own words, “The flute is but a hollow bamboo/wooden tube which, however, fills our hollow human souls with serenity.”
(Photos by Bijay Rai.)
madhukar@myrepublica.com
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