Ricky Kej needs no introduction. The internationally known composer, environmentalist and professor has dedicated his musical career to bringing songs of nature. His music charged with a purpose has venerated him with honorable badges such as UNCCD Land Ambassador, UNESCO's Global Ambassador for Kindness, UNICEF Celebrity Supporter and more. Some 16 studio albums, 3500 commercials and 4 feature films down, we had Ricky at SAF! We attended his high- energy live concert at the festival that was jam-packed with audience. During the act Ricky awakened our senses with his mastery in keyboard. He was accompanied by an equally dynamic team -- IP Singh on vocals brought high energy folk tunes, Varijashree Venugopal's and Varshita Ramesh's mellifluous voice and flute playing gave a subtle sensorial pleasure, Karthik Mani anchored the act with drumming while Giridhar Udupa became a crowd favorite with intense Ghatam and vocal percussion. The act brought out several pivotal themes that Ricky has voiced over years - human and Elephant conflict, water conservation and a homage to indigenous farmers if India. We sat with the artiste at SAF to know more about his craft. Excerpts:
What makes SAF different from others?
I don't think any festival that I have performed anywhere in this world in over 30 countries had been this meticulous in their arrangement like SAF. They know how to treat artistes and cater to their needs.
What do you have to say about Goa being a cultural hub?
Goa has a very multicultural space. Each culture respects one another here. I would say Goa is as cosmopolitan as a city like New York or Los Angeles with people of different regions, races, languages coexisting. That that's why Goa is always filled with energy! At the same time, it has kept its heritage alive.
What kind of music you wish to make?
For the last few years the only kind of music that I make is on sustainability, environmental consciousness and social impact so my SAF performance reflects the same. The aim of the performance at SAF was to entertain people as well as give them food for thought that they can take back home.
Can art and activism go hand in hand?
I think I consider myself more like an advocate than an activist because when it comes to sending out a message to create a social impact there are always two ways to go about it. One is to work against somebody and try to get things done which is powerful and impactful in some ways but I like to go with the second route which shows how to love. My idea is to make everyone fall in love with nature and find that love within ourselves to embrace the beauty of the planet and protect it(smiles).
When did you discover this passion for the environment?
So I have been an environmentalist even when I knew about the meaning of that word. You know…(thinks)...at the end of the day music is what? It's sounds of nature! It started with the sonic strands of streams, water droplets l, breeze and slowly humans started imitating those sounds and made it more pleasing to the human ear. They started pulling objects from nature and made flutes, boxes of seeds, shakers and animal skin percussion instruments. It's only for the last 1000 years that music has actually become academic with notes, scales and ragas. If you look at any indigenous population in the world, for them, music and nature is always one and the same. So that's what happened with me -- both these worlds came together in a symbiotic relationship.
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Tell us more about the theme of songs that you played.
My team played songs on various developmental issues that range from recognising the toiling work by farmers, presenting human and Elephant conflict, songs on climate change, mapping Ganga's journey and the way it nurtures life and many more. I believe that most of the environmental problems that we face today which cause a threat to us as a species arise from the constant thought that we have-- somebody else would make the difference. We depend on corporations, governmental bodies etc to make a change. But with this concert we urged to be the agents of change. Wire your mind to preserve the environment.
How is India's music different from the music scene elsewhere in the world and what is our strength?
What differentiates us is that we have got a lot of traditional forms of music. There is classical, folk, Sufi, carnatic and many more. However in India for some reason whenever we talk about music, we resonate it with Bollywood music. People cannot think beyond that. So when I tell I am a composer the question I get is 'which films have you worked in'. But I have not done any films. So that's how deeply ingrained Bollywood is in the psyche of people. However, in reality, it is the classical music that we are recognised for in the world. For instance if a Bollywood composer is singing at a stadium in a foreign land, it will be mostly attended by only Indian diaspora. That's because they have not broken cultural barriers to connect with the global audience. But if you have a classical musician playing abroad, like Pt. Ravi Shankar, whom I personally witnessed many years back, I was astonished to see the broad spectrum of audience presentation. It is the classical music with which the world connects. That us the flag bearer of India everywhere in the world. That's when I decided that I don't want to be into popular music and rather follow the footsteps of musicians like Ustad Zakir Hussain, Pt. Ravi Shankar etc who are all defined by their distinct art. An artiste should reflect who they are with their craft but the problem in India is every musician is either making a love song or an item song. I think musicians in India need to dig deeper into their roots, find their strength in being an Indian and put themselves out there on the musical canvas.
Serendipity Arts Festival held at Panjim, Goa ends today.
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