The Man Who Thrived Through Octaves: Digvijaysinh Chauhan

Deep in the heart of Bhubaneshwar, at flute maestro Padma Vibhushan Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia’s Vrindaban Gurukul, a star pupil, Digvijaysinh Chauhan, creates his own footprints on his chosen instrument—the Indian bamboo flute. Hailing from Gujarat, he recently toured Kerala, where he shared the training methods of Chaurasia and his experiences of learning in the gurukul tradition. He has been awarded the “Sankar Vibushan Samman” by the Gujarat Sangeet Natak Academy.

 As a self-starter, you have achieved significant milestones. What inclined you to choose the flute?

Around ten or eleven years ago, since my sister practiced Indian classical vocals, I gained an interest in music, mostly Indian classical vocals and instruments like the harmonium, which we also call a musical keyboard. My father gifted me a harmonium, and my interest in playing songs peaked through it. However, at that time, classical music was secondary, and the flute was not on my radar. There was no flautist in Gujarat to inspire me. Then, someone gifted me a flute. It was a side flute, which requires a teacher for proper training. Initially, I tried to play it, but no sound came out. The flute remained unused at home for about four years. When I joined college for my B.Tech, I brought the flute with me, hoping to get a chance to play it. Later, I searched the internet for classical flute lessons. YouTube was gaining popularity at the time, and my progress was swift because I already knew a bit about music.

How you reached Vrindaban Gurukul and can you share your experience with Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia?

 I got to know about Vrindaban Gurukul of Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia in Mumbai. Even though it is in an adjacent state, I had to travel around 500 to 600 km from my place. One day, I went to the Gurukul without knowing the procedures. Chaurasia ji is open to everybody; he welcomed us warmly. When I expressed my interest, he was very happy that people were coming from far places, even though they were not musicians. He called us technical students.

How was the training in under Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia??

There are two types of learning: one where students stay for five years, with everything provided for free. During this time, the student becomes like a family member to him, following the Guru-Shishya Parampara. He also lives there with the students. However, at that time, I was pursuing my B.Tech, so he suggested I come whenever I was free for classes. This was a great relief for me. Although the classes were free, travel expenses allowed me to be there only once every two months. I was very satisfied and happy to have found the perfect person to learn from. The struggle turned positive, and within three or four years, I made significant progress. After completing my B.Tech, I decided to pursue music full-time. I met him again, and he was very happy to send me to Bhubaneswar, where he had opened a new center. Since 2019, I have been on this journey and continue to do so.

Tell me more about the system of learning you experienced there!

 Vrindaban is a conventional gurukul where young learners live and train in music for free. We have classes from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., focusing on a particular raga. In the evening, we spend about three hours on compositions, using the tabla or other instruments. The rest of the time is dedicated to technical practices like alankar, which we call patla, giving us a good grip and command over the instrument.

For a starter, the classes begin with how to hold the flute correctly and how to blow after that he started teaching me on ragas, I learned the Raga for at least three years. He believed that grammars for all ragas are same, only the indigenous notes are different so you learn a raga perfectly, and then you can learn others easily.  Raag Yaman, (Carnatic equivalent Kalyani) was my first Raga.

Hindustani classical music which has two presentation styles: khayal and Dhrupad. We play in Dhrupad pattern. My guru was the first person to introduce this system in flute. He seamlessly incorporated the alaap, jod and jhala of the Senia-Dhrupad ang and gave a new tonal quality to the instrument.  He also experimented on a lot of fingering and blowing techniques.

What are the other techniques you learnt?

The first technique he developed is to hold the flute in the style you hold a shehnai. You may have seen people holding the flute with their fingertips, but the shehnai style provides more grip and allows for longer playing. Additionally, when he chose the Dhrupad style, he invented tonguing. This technique involves using the tongue to strike the lips, momentarily blocking the flow of air into the bansuri and give more thrust to the first note.

Previously, this was performed only on stringed instruments like the sitar and sarod. Enhancing the swara’s clarity and distinctiveness, tonguing becomes a useful ornamentation to highlight notes at high speeds and create intricate jod and jhalla elements during rhythmic improvisation. Incorporated by my guru in flute playing, it has now become very popular. He also taught me the importance of playing mindfully.

What are some challenges unique to playing the flute as a classical instrument?

Basically, flute is a folk instrument, not a classical instrument. Flute has only one and half octaves. Other instruments have three or four octaves. So, a flautist should have very good improvisation. So the journey to become a flautist can become frustrating at times. But with dedication  and commitment, you can turn a flute to perform solo. My guru’s best quality is his improvisation. He also played other forms of light music like Thumri and bhajans in flute. Thumri is a mixture of melody and poetry, so you must think a lot before you play thumri. He also brought flute to film music which made the instrument popular.

Tell me about your recent workshop held in Kerala.

Kerala has a huge art and music-loving community. I had a five-day Hindustani flute workshop at Maanav Music Academy at Trissur, in association with Harimurali Flute Academy. It was an enlightening experience. The five-day workshop was divided into three sections: introductory for beginners, intermediate for teaching essential techniques, and advanced for teaching raga structure and concert performance skills. There were two concerts held as the part of this, one at Kochi Lokadharmi Theatre Space and another in Trissur. Rathnasree Iyer accompanied on tabla.

Edited by: Nanda N