The divine bond

TO SIR, WITH LOVE

Manoj Bajpai kowtows to his teacher Barry John 

“The most unique thing about Barry John is that he’s a teacher who never teaches. He believes in showing the way by doing it himself. And that’s what I have learnt from him. He’d rather be a guide than a teacher. A guru should be the platform for a student to help him explore himself; someone who comes to the rescue when a student needs help. And Barry John encourages students to explore their ability as much as possible. He understands his student’s likes, dislikes, gets to know them and then moulds them accordingly. I always wanted to be an actor. What I am today is because of him,” says Manoj Bajpai.

Most memorable moment…
“In Delhi, I was once travelling with Barry. Suddenly, he looked at me and said, ‘I think you should go home. You will be more refreshed once you come back’, and gave me a month’s break. When I came back, I realised that I was so caught up in the 12-18 hours of work that my mind had stopped to think creatively. Barry could see that and he exactly knew what was stopping my mind. He knew that if I go back to my parents, I would unwind.”

Most valuable advice…
“Everybody can talk and think, but very few can put those exact thoughts to action. So just get down and show the world that you can do it."

Saswati, student of Kathak dancer Pandit Birju Maharaj, speaks about the beauty in her Guruji’s art and in his teachings…

                                                                                     

“I was very young when I had gone to Guruji to learn dance. I would often see him talking about me with others and would get very conscious, to such an extent that I refused to go there to learn dance. But Maharajji had a lot of faith in me. He still gave me a lot of attention and enough space and time to settle down and adjust to the new environment. Now that I think of it, it was just a mental block that made me conscious. In fact, he would speak very highly of me all the time. After college, I would go to him straightaway and just observe him. I have been with him for 42-43 years and his knowledge and beauty of dance is inimitable. His devotion and his dedication towards dance and his students, his willingness to teach, are commendable and inspiring. He is a perfectionist to the core. What makes a teacher-student relationship beautiful, especially in our case, is complete faith and belief in each other. Learning with him is almost spiritual, because he focuses on enrichment of his students. I will never be able to move away from this world, thanks to Guruji. For a fulfilling and long-lasting teacher-student relationship, it is important to establish a common ground, which is the want to give and take. Even today, I learn so many new things from him and he always keeps that passion to learn alive in his students. As a teacher, he keeps reinventing himself and keeps creating new ways of teaching so that there never arises any question of stagnation in his teaching or in the learning of students. I’d say that I’m completely made by my Guruji."

Sufi singer, Zila Hussain Khan, keeps her father, sitar maestro – Late Ustad Vilayat Khan’s notes alive through her art…

                                                                         

“My classes are not just about music, I teach my students about life through music. By doing this we’re also preserving our heritage. This was the way my father used to teach me. He taught me that one needs equal amount of love and aesthetics to maintain relationships with people, which is similar to how one keeps a relationship with sur (notes). Also, I make his teachings more relevant for today. Besides all the important lessons, my father always taught me to live in a respectable and dignified manner, and also work in that manner. I think he would be very proud of me because of the dignity with which I follow his path.”

Attempting to fill into the shoes of his father and guru, the legendary Pandit Bhajan Sopori, Abhay Rustum Sopori
speaks about how his father has moulded him into a musician and the person he is today

 

“My father, my guru, has inspired me in a lot of ways. I have not only learnt music from him, but have also learnt to deal with various situations that come along in life – from how to work for the cause of music to how to work for our culture, to how to be a national level musician. There are some people who think in a completely different way, and they become the guiding forces of people’s lives and, both, my grandfather, Pandit Shambhu Nath Sopori and my father, Pandit Bhajan Sopori were such guiding forces. Their work for the upliftment of musicians, their honesty and dedication; the philosophy of humanism and peace, have been my inspiration.
I still need to learn how to be Pandit Bhajan Sopori! That is difficult. I remember, in the midst of militancy, I used to go to Kashmir to perform and many people would ask me that wasn’t I afraid? I never felt afraid, thanks to my father. He made me strong. The other things I’d want to learn from him are his musical genius and his drive of fighting against all odds.”

GURU SPEAK

Former Indian cricketer, Lalchand Rajput coached Team India to become the champions of the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in 2007. He shares his views about the two captains who changed the face of Team India

Captain Cool: MS Dhoni        

“Dhoni is very cool-headed; he backs the players a lot and also their instincts. He doesn’t put any added pressure on them, and he thinks ahead of the situation. Dhoni always gives a pep talk and says, ‘Never take tension. Only give tension to others!’”

The Bengal Tiger: Saurav Ganguly  

“Ganguly brought aggression to the team and taught the players to see the opponents in the eye. And he also backed the players a lot. That way the players also performed better. Ganguly always persisted that if a player is picked, he should be given enough opportunities to fail, too, before actually gauging his performance. So, players who are there now like Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Sehwag; were backed a lot by him.”

Indian theatre director and teacher, Barry John, shares his thoughts on how to be a friend, philosopher and guide...       

“If you want to act you should know what acting is about. It should not just be a passion, but an obsession. It requires a lot of skill, technique and discipline. The most important advice I give is, ‘ask yourself, do I really want to act, am I aware of what’s in store for me, do I know how films are made, and do I know what skills are going to be asked of me?’ My aim is to bring out that something special in every person. For instance, Shah Rukh’s persona and personality is stronger than his acting talent. He loves the audience and he handles them well. Manoj, on the other hand, is different. He worked on everything and had to work a lot more on his lifestyle, language… and the transformation has been great. So, a teacher needs to figure out with the student what works best for him. I love to see people change. Also, it’s important for a teacher to reinvent oneself. If you get stagnant, it’s like death! There are also bound to be creative differences with your students. That is because, acting is creative work. I have to develop individual personalities and enhance creativity. So, unlike school, where we all wear the same uniforms, read the same books, where we’re all expected to give the same answers to questions… all this is convergent thinking, whereas, an artist has to develop divergent thinking. It’s just the opposite. And as a teacher, it’s my responsibility to bring out that talent, thought and the true personality of a person.”