He belongs to a family of legendary classical musicians and dancers but for his own good, he decided to follow his heart and pursue music that his family would have never dreamt of
As he says, an artiste should be allowed absolute freedom. Swaraansh Mishra, rockstar son of Sajan Mishra from the renowned classical duo Rajan-Sajan Mishra, is creating waves with his cutting-edge compositions that speak of contemporary times. A liberated soul, he recently performed at Delhi International Arts Festival with his band Swaraansh Live. In this freewheeling interview with Karan Bhardwaj, Swaraansh, also the grandson of Pt Birju Maharaj, talks about his inspirations, rebellious attitude and his Bollywood aspirations
With music pouring in from all sides, how fascinating was your upbringing?
Music is in my genes. So I started learning it from my father at a tender age of seven. It was a typical childhood where I was growing up like other kid but I had natural fascination for all kinds of music. Like my siblings, I too inherited values of my family. We believed in guru-shishya parampara. Apart from my father and uncle, I also found a teacher in my maternal grandfather Pt Birju Maharaj. He is a fabulous Kathak exponent but he used to narrate me beautiful poems. My mother, Kavita Misra, too is a Kathak dancer. My cousin brother Ritesh and Rajnish Mishra are a classical duo.
Unlike musicians in your family, you chose to delve into contemporary music. Why?
Children get rebellious if their parents are suppressed. My mother couldn’t pursue her dance professionally because she embraced family responsibilities after marriage. Situations were not conducive to her performing on stage. People would look down upon women who danced. My father is a duo classical vocalist. In duet, one has to stand down to let the entire act come out beautifully. I’m not complaining as it is quite natural. Also, that’s what we are taught in the family. You have to let the elder one lead the show. But that hesitation had a strong impact on my personality. From lyrics to singing, I hold no punches.
How do you face criticism for that?
People have to do it. They will also make comparisons. If you sing well, they would say you were not as good as your father. If you are bad, you let down their expectations. So there’s always some kind of pressure.
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We heard you started writing songs quite early. What were your initial inspirations?
As a teenager, like any other boy, I would write songs inspired by love and its impact on life. I would write songs whenever a girl would come and go from my life (chuckles). The first lines I wrote were… ‘Yaad aa gai mujhe wo raat jab aayi thi tum mere paas…’ I also wrote lullabies because my girlfriend wanted to have a baby girl. “O Shonda… teri laali… roop me teri komalta hai...”
As I grew up, I got inspired by literature. I wrote a song called Ganga Mayya some 10 years back, which was recently awarded in DadaSaheb Film Festival 2014. The song was used in documentary Bharat Bhagya Vidhata. That song changed horizon of song writing for me.
How did Swaraansh Live, your band, materialise?
I met Sandy Singh for a project and we started jamming together. Sandy (rhythm guitar) introduced us to other guys – Lakshay Dabas (guitar), Amber Tewari (Bass) and Pankaj Khurana (Drums). We are into rock, funk and pop with a dash of Bollywood. We have also planned an album for which we will begin shoot by the mid of next month.
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Your track Baba Big Chill is pretty popular among youth. How do you come up with songs like that?
Our compositions are a slice of life. We are inspired by everyday moments. I was at a flea market in Goa when a guy walked up to me and whispered “bhaiyya… hukka chilam bong bolo.” He was selling hukka-chilam. These words remained with me. One day, we were planning to go to Big Chill for food. My niece promptly said, ‘baba Big Chill jayenge.’ From that we derived the complete line for the track. It says, ‘Hukka Chilam Bong kare baba Big Chill.’ We composed another track Ali Baba on a highway. So everything inspires us (laughs). For the album, we are going to shoot tracks like Baba Big Chill and Jaaniya (hip hop). I am also planning an album on Swaraansh Classics.
You are gradually moving into Bollywood. Tell us about your projects.
I have composed and written three tracks for a movie titled DNA of Love. The songs have been crooned by the likes of Sonu Nigam and Gajendra Verma. The film is directed by Amit Kasariya and stars Adhyaya Suman. I am waiting for this movie to come out. I have also written an item song Malai Kamar Bal Khai in Annu Kapoor-starrer Muavza.
How does your family react to your raunchy lyrics?
They have love-hate relationship with it. They like some classical melodies but disapprove the raunchy numbers. My father was aghast when he first heard the lyrics of this item song (Muavza). But he later understood that there’s an artiste inside me and he should be allowed creative freedom. Of course, I don’t play such songs when I perform with my father. Since I have trained myself in many genres, I perform according to the taste of the audience. When performing with my family, I choose classical fusion.
How do you look at the state of classical music?
Classical music is always appreciated. It may be less popular in northern India as compared to the south but over all, it is immensely popular. People buy tickets in Mumbai and Pune to attend classical music concerts. Our music is popular in abroad too. My brothers, Ritesh-Rajnish Mishra are doing fabulous job in khayal gayaki from our Banaras gharana, and I think they are on the right track. See, not everyone can like classical music. You have to have taste for it. It’s like a special dish which is not available at roadside dhabas. You have to travel to a destination to grab it.
What would you like to be known as?
An accomplished artiste.
