Biography

I was born in Cape Town, South Africa and grew up during the apartheid era when India had imposed sanctions, including cultural ones, on South Africa in a bid to pressure the regime for changes. Today we enjoy the fruits of this in the form of freedom, but during that time, we were culturally isolated and had very limited exposure to cultural material, performances and artists.

I was fortunate to have a dad, Jamnadas Chauhan, who studied music in India when he was young and who taught us (my sister, Madhu, my younger brother, Yogesh and my cousin, Bharat) the basics of Indian music and to  play the harmonium and tabla in 1968. My dad and his brothers, Raman and Babu, had an Indian music band and we grew up with a variety of musical instruments, such as harmoniums, tabla, violins, bul-bul tarangs, dilruba, etc., around the house. We had lots of opportunity to meddle with these instruments. But, a sitar was lacking.

In 1970, my dad took us on a trip to Durban to purchase a sitar. Unlike Cape Town, Durban had a few Indian musical instrument shops mainly because of the much larger Indian population there. We eventually purchased a sitar and an introductory book on sitar.

My interest in learning the sitar grew stronger. Just armed with the sitar and the book, I had to fathom out the technique, as there were no other sitar players in Cape Town.

Although I could play a few melodies in a short space of time, even ending up live on Bulawayo TV within six months, revising my technique was an ongoing process, even to this day.

The uncertainty and the process of re-learning was a frustrating experience, but my passion to master the instrument and the inspiring music of great musicians like Pundit Ravi Shankar kept me going. Refining the technique was like working in the dark, with only recorded sounds to work from. It was only much later in my life that I managed to get some visual material such as video recordings of live shows and broadcasts, which helped me to get a long way with my technique. From my experience, I would recommend that one should learn the technique from an expert, rather than re-inventing the wheel, and save countless years.  

Today the situation is different, thanks to technology.  We have visual material at our finger tips, with DVD’s, YouTube and similar products, and even online tutoring. So, I encourage anyone with a passion to play any musical instrument to forge ahead, as there is more opportunity than obstacles. The key ingredient for success is passion.

Learning to play an instrument, or even learning to sing, greatly enhances one appreciation of the music, even if one cannot be a master at it. So, don’t let anyone discourage you from learning to play any instrument.

Although I had a passion for Indian classical music, I followed a career in Engineering and IT. Since the interest in Indian music was so limited in South Africa, it was impossible to make a living from it. So, music had to be a hobby, rather than a profession. This is fine with me as I have now reached a level of experience that practising in itself is a fulfilling, enjoyable, and sometimes even a blissful experience.  I still just cannot get enough practice!

I have also come to the realisation that being an Indian musician is more about the journey to master music and it requires a lifetime of dedication to music. I have also begun to see the truth in Pundit Ravi Shankar’s remark that “It takes a lifetime to master one note”.  The more one perfects a note, the more one’s senses are refined see the imperfection in it.  The saying “it takes seven life times to become a musician” in Hindu mythology is not too far fetched. I am working on my music to at least make a head start in my next lifetime.

I would like to share with you a valuable tip regarding practice.

If you wish to surprise yourself with achievements in a short space of time, always practise with the intention to improve, to achieve something or for perfection.

Just idle and mindless repetition of action with the hope that perfection will automatically follow will disappoint you. This applies to anything really, not necessarily just music.

I wish you well.

Naresh Chauhan.

I was born in Cape Town, South Africa and grew up during the apartheid era when India had imposed sanctions, including cultural ones, on South Africa in a bid to pressure the regime for changes. Today we enjoy the fruits of this in the form of freedom, but during that time, we were culturally isolated and had very limited exposure to cultural material, performances and artists.

I was fortunate to have a dad, Jamnadas Chauhan, who studied music in India when he was young and who taught us (my sister, Madhu, my younger brother, Yogesh and my cousin, Bharat) the basics of Indian music and to  play the harmonium and tabla in 1968. My dad and his brothers, Raman and Babu, had an Indian music band and we grew up with a variety of musical instruments, such as harmoniums, tabla, violins, bul-bul tarangs, dilruba, etc., around the house. We had lots of opportunity to meddle with these instruments. But, a sitar was lacking.

In 1970, my dad took us on a trip to Durban to purchase a sitar. Unlike Cape Town, Durban had a few Indian musical instrument shops mainly because of the much larger Indian population there. We eventually purchased a sitar and an introductory book on sitar.

My interest in learning the sitar grew stronger. Just armed with the sitar and the book, I had to fathom out the technique, as there were no other sitar players in Cape Town.

Although I could play a few melodies in a short space of time, even ending up live on Bulawayo TV within six months, revising my technique was an ongoing process, even to this day.

The uncertainty and the process of re-learning was a frustrating experience, but my passion to master the instrument and the inspiring music of great musicians like Pundit Ravi Shankar kept me going. Refining the technique was like working in the dark, with only recorded sounds to work from. It was only much later in my life that I managed to get some visual material such as video recordings of live shows and broadcasts, which helped me to get a long way with my technique. From my experience, I would recommend that one should learn the technique from an expert, rather than re-inventing the wheel, and save countless years.  

Today the situation is different, thanks to technology.  We have visual material at our finger tips, with DVD’s, YouTube and similar products, and even online tutoring. So, I encourage anyone with a passion to play any musical instrument to forge ahead, as there is more opportunity than obstacles. The key ingredient for success is passion.

Learning to play an instrument, or even learning to sing, greatly enhances one appreciation of the music, even if one cannot be a master at it. So, don’t let anyone discourage you from learning to play any instrument.

Although I had a passion for Indian classical music, I followed a career in Engineering and IT. Since the interest in Indian music was so limited in South Africa, it was impossible to make a living from it. So, music had to be a hobby, rather than a profession. This is fine with me as I have now reached a level of experience that practising in itself is a fulfilling, enjoyable, and sometimes even a blissful experience.  I still just cannot get enough practice!

I have also come to the realisation that being an Indian musician is more about the journey to master music and it requires a lifetime of dedication to music. I have also begun to see the truth in Pundit Ravi Shankar’s remark that “It takes a lifetime to master one note”.  The more one perfects a note, the more one’s senses are refined see the imperfection in it.  The saying “it takes seven life times to become a musician” in Hindu mythology is not too far fetched. I am working on my music to at least make a head start in my next lifetime.

I would like to share with you a valuable tip regarding practice.

If you wish to surprise yourself with achievements in a short space of time, always practise with the intention to improve, to achieve something or for perfection.

Just idle and mindless repetition of action with the hope that perfection will automatically follow will disappoint you. This applies to anything, not just music necessarily.

I wish you well.

Naresh Chauhan.