Meet Kiran Phatak, who sings Hindustani classical songs in English

Kiran Phathak

Hindustani classical singer Kiran Phatak is all too used to noticing people chuckle silently when he breaks into a song. After all, for Indian audiences, hearing a man launch into lyrics to the tune of 'What a cool pleasant atmosphere here, warm and cool breeze gives me a pleasure, what a cool pleasant atmosphere here,' in Raag Kedar is not everyday business.

Kiran Phathak

"I sing the song exactly the way I would sing a classical Hindustani melody, complete with alap and taal. Many start laughing because they aren't conditioned to hearing English songs being woven into classical Indian ragas," says the Dombivli resident. But the jeers the song evokes are no deterrent for the third generation classical singer. "When people continue to listen, they realise that the song is actually more relatable because you can understand the lyrics," he smiles.

In his attempt to make Hindustani classical songs accessible to Western audiences, the 62-year-old has been, for the last six years, translating classical bandishes into English. Phatak is now part of a new film by 101 India.com on his journey.

Phatak composed his first track in 2001 titled 'O naughty Krishna, tell me how I shall go? When my in-laws hear all this, they will keep me out of home, How I shall go?' in Raag Hamir, known to project a vigorous, dramatic mien. "I composed the track in a day. Although I had to brush up on my English for this by reading books on grammar," he admits.

Phatak then consciously made it a practice to compose one every week. "It became addictive, and I ended up making almost 300 CDs with these tracks. All got sold," he laughs.

Phatak, who founded the Bhartiya Sangeet Vidyalaya in Dombivli 24 years ago, says the idea was borne out of frustration while listening to Western forms of music such as rap, hip-hop, rock and pop. "While I could enjoy the music, the lyrics and accent were lost on me. The same, I realised, is true for Westerners who probably like listening to Hindustani classical songs, but cannot decipher what is it that we're singing," says the founder of Bhartiya Sangeet Vidyalaya says that the need to compose English lyrics sprang from the fact the language of shastriya songs of yore are now outdated. "They were composed during the time of Moghul sultans by singers in their kingdoms. Because they were dependent on the kings, they wrote songs tracks to please the royals. The topics revolved around marriage and the secondary status of women," he says. For instance, the phrase, 'Baat Takat Hoon', which literally translates into a woman waiting endlessly for her lover, is common usage in classical songs. "In the age of instant messaging, there's no concept of pining and endless waiting. You just directly ping the person," he says with much candour.

Phatak believes that it's necessary to incorporate modern-day issues like mobile phones and dating into classical music to make it more relevant to the youth today. "After composing my song, I sing it for my students, and they love it," he says. In fact, Phatak also teaches his students to compose in English. Purists argue that he is diluting a sacred culture. "Many feel I'm deriding a centuries-old tradition by writing modern-day lyrics. But I don't think I'm in any way disrespecting the culture by making it more accessible," he says. Phatak fears that Hindustani classical music may suffer the same fate as yoga, where foreigners borrow a concept native to India, make it their own and then market it better. "To prevent this, we need to ensure that our music evolves. Anyway, the genre of Hindustani classical has a niche following, and with time the numbers are dwindling. This is my way of preserving the tradition," he says.