First of all I choose a raga that gives me musical satisfaction. When I choose that raga then I welcome and invite the raga. To do that I have to meditate on the raga to understand its structure. When I get the structure then I can enjoy playing it. When I play a few beautiful notes, the spirit of the raga feels happy and comes and blesses me. Then the real music comes.
Indian bansuri player
Hariprasad Chaurasia (born July 1, 1938) is a renowned Indian flute player whose repertoire is in Eastern Classical music. He is an innovator and a traditionalist. He is as credited for his musicianship as for his technical ability on the native instruments. He has been honoured with several awards of which the most prominent ones are the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award of India, and the distinction of Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) of France. He also serves as the Artistic Director of the World Music Department at the Rotterdam Music Conservatory in the Netherlands.
From: Wikiquote (CC BY-SA 4.0)
A drop of water when you are thirsty gives such relief. The same drop in a fountain inspires you with its beauty. The same water in a dirty drain is repelling. And the same drop in the river makes you want to swim there and take a bath. And when the same water goes in the sea it thrills you with its power.
In my past there is Krishna. In my dreams I dream of recreating a huge college of flutists, a veritable Vrindaban in which students will arrive to learn and study with satchels full of flutes, live in mud huts, eat at a common langar. A modern Vrindaban from which a thousand flutes will ring out each day. For what else is there? When my breath is gone and I can not play anymore what do I leave behind? Some dedicated students! When you leave nothing behind, you cry at the point of death, but I still dream, I dare to dream that through my students my flute will be left behind as the memory of Krishna.