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Vidushi Jaya Jog

Domain: Hindustani Classical Sitar | Educator | Mentor | LIVE Concert Performer | Innovator | Published Author | Musician | Community Builder 

Genre: #IndianClassical #Composer #ClassicalCompositions #Sitar #Author #IndianClassicalSitar

Location: Pune, India

Journey

BORN TO A FAMILY THAT OWNED A ‘CIRCUS’

Vidushi Jaya Jog is born to a family that emphasized only on education and physical exercise for children and members of the family. Her grandfather owned a famous “circus” of the time, the Deval Circus, in Pune, Maharashtra. There was little to no exposure to cultural activities in the daily lifestyle of family members apart from the fact that her mother learned Sitar for some time, and her father was a doctor by profession. So, a sitar was there in a box at home, which piqued the curiosity of young Jaya, as she would watch her mother practising the Sitar. Jaya started fiddling with the Sitar and experience immense peace in doing the same, and by the time she was 15 years old, she was inspired by her mother to join a nearby class to learn the Sitar, where several instruments such as Sitar, Sarod, Violin, Dilruba, Tabla were taught together at a time.

SPARK OF INSPIRATION AND TAALIM OF A GURU

Her training in sitar continued for the next 15 years with occasional breaks for a few years in between. In the meantime, one of her friends who would accompany her to the Sitar class, had discontinued, as she was struggling with Sitar learning, while Jaya Ji continued at the same class. And, one fine day, she got an invitation from this friend of hers to attend a Sitar recital of her Guru Ustad Usman Khan, at an auditorium in Pune. Her friend, along with three other students, presented a group Sitar recital, before the main recital of the Guru. Jaya Jog was inspired to witness the concert performance and decided to take taalim from the same Guru. She took the residential address of Guru, reached his home to seek permission to receive taalim, and began her journey of learning sitar from a legendary sitar maestro and Guru Ustad Usman Khan. Vidushi Jaya Jog continued evolving as a professional sitarist, and received prestigious awards, namely:

  • Kala Gaurav Puraskar by Rotary Club (2023)
  • Prime instrumentalist in cultural exchange programme by AFF, Pune (2009)
  • Pushpalata Ranade Award for instrumental music (2005)

TASTE FOR INDIAN CLASSICAL MUSIC SPRINGS INSPIRATION FOR MUSIC COMPOSITION

As Vidushi Jaya Jog began her taalim from her Guru, her drive to work hard, and determination to improve her sitar playing found new pace in her life. She developed her unique taste for Indian classical music, which helped her hone advanced skills in her sitar playing. Her Guru further inspired her to start teaching, as teaching students would aid her learning journey with the much-needed understanding of the students’ perspectives about sitar playing. As she started teaching more students, she would put herself in their shoes, think deeply about music, which further helped her evolve as a better musician.

Her taalim with Guru Ustad Usman Khan continued for 15 years, before she gave her first professional performance on stage. By this time, she had also nurtured her interest in creating raag-based compositions, which brought a fresh dose of inspiration in her person journey of musical pursuit. She continues taking her taalim from her Guruji even now. Approximately, by 2013, she presented her first composition was in Raag Bhopali, set to Ektaal. This presentation received accolades from her Guru, students, and every member of the audience in the auditorium. CDs were released of many of her original compositions, and she continues to perform her compositions while imparting the knowledge to her students now.

Vidushi Jaya Jog released many music albums, and has many compositions and albums to her credit, as detailed below:

  • PRELUDE, her first album was published in 2003 by Flash Music, in which she has played Guruji’s compositions in Raagas Bageshri, Durga And Khamaj
  • Gurudakhsina published in 2006, has her own compositions in Raagas Bhoopali, Rageshree, Miya Malhar, Kafi, Malkauns and Bhairavi.
  • Panchratna published in 2011, has her own compositions in Raagas Lalat, Bilaskhani Todi, Madhukauns, Bageshree and Yaman.

Her quest for perfection and devotion to music is revealed very well in her compositions and albums. Her expression of Ragas has been widely appreciated as immaculate. It is noteworthy to recognize the fact that Vidushi Jaya Jog has a unique journey, where she lost her parents early in life, and inspired herself through her journey of learning music and evolving as a respected professional, all on her own, without any family support.

Vidushi Jaya Jog carries a confident aura when she performs. She has given solo performances to audiences from various organizations, some of which are mentioned below:

  • Osho Commune – Pune
  • National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) – Mumbai
  • Pune Festival – Pune
  • Yashwantrao Chavan Smruti Sangeet Festival – Ambejogai
  • Maharashtra Mandal – Ahmedabad
  • Kesari Wada Ganapati Festival – Pune
  • Swara Sadhana Samiti – Mumbai
  • Gururao Deshpande Music Festival – Bangalore
  • Poornavad Sangeet Samaroha – Parner
  • Dadar Matunga Cultural Centre – Mumbai
  • Aurangabad Festival – Aurangabad
  • Border Security Force (BSF) – Agartala
  • Maharashtra Mandal Ganapati Festival – Agartala
  • ONGC – Agartala
  • Anam Prem – Pune, Lonavala, Kolhapur, Mumbai
  • Sangeet Sankalp – Valsad and Jalandhar

RECOGNITION AS A PROFESSIONAL ARTIST, CLASSICAL COMPOSER, AUTHOR

As a sitarist, Vidushi Jaya Jog has established a name for herself both in India as well as internationally. She has conducted music sessions in Temple of Fine Arts (TFA), Singapore, for 3 months as a residential faculty. She has also conducted musical workshops and lecture demonstration in various countries like France, Italy, USA, Shrilanka, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia.

Upon a request from a friend who played the Piano on TV, she agreed to create duet compositions. The first duet composition was in Raag Bhairav, played on Sitar and Piano, and recorded at Educational Multimedia Research Center (EM2RC) studio in Pune, Maharashtra. She performed Sitar with Flute at TFA, Singapore, as well.

Vidushi Jaya Jog considers music as worship and a fine tool for meditation to experience spirituality. She has performed at many spiritual places:

  • Ambabai Mandir – Kolhapur
  • Sarasbaug Ganapati Mandir – Pune
  • Janglee Maharaj Mandir – Pune
  • Vitthal Rukhmani Mandir – Pune
  • Bhavani Mata Mandir – Pune
  • Ambabai Mandir – Miraj
  • Dattatraye Devasthan – Gangapur
  • Bande Ali Khan Darga – Pune
  • Meersaheb Darga – Miraj
  • Avatar Meher baba Centre – Ahmednagar
  • Dattajayanti Utsav – Ambad and Pune

She has experimented duets with other instruments:

  • Sitar & Sarod (Pune and South Korea)
  • Sitar & Violin (Pune, Chinchwad, Ratnagiri and Chiplun)
  • Sitar & Piano (France, and for television show by EMRC Pune)
  • Sitar & Flute (Singapore)

She, along with other artists have designed a few music shows:

  • Suras Ranga: It is a fascinating musical journey with glimpses of Indian classical music to refresh minds and souls of the audience. Suras Ranga captivates its audience with presentation of a few forms of Navarasa through Gazal, Thumri, Classical vocal and Instrumental music.
  • Surel Sanwad: This show is a dialog between Sitar and Violin. Jaya and Dr. Neelima Radkar (violinist) along with their students present their compositions in orchestral form.
  • Gof Swarancha: This music show is a spontaneous improvisation of raag by vocalist and instrumentalists.
  • Ashta Mangalam: In this music show Jaya presents a set of selective eight compositions. These compositions are played by Jaya and her few students in orchestral form

Vidushi Jaya Jog has published five books:

  1. Gof duheri: Heart touching narration of Jaya’s musical journey intertwining with her Guru’s musical journey as well. It reveals rich emotional tradition of Guru Shishya Parampara.
  2. Sack, Suitcase and Sitar: These are travel stories and experiences about her concert tours abroad.
  3. Paris Sparsha Surancha: This is a frank narration about how music transformed her into a creative musician.
  4. Shoonya Uttarachi Bereez: This is a fiction which bagged first prize under novel section. This competition was organized by an organization located in Kolhapur.
  5. Gala bhet nisargashi, Aani Manvi manashi: This is about mesmerizing experiences during her expeditions in Himalaya, Scandinavian countries, Northeast India and other places.

She is a performing artist who continues to inspire us all with her multi-talented persona and creative gifts. She has penned many short stories and articles on a variety of subjects. Her travelling narrations are published in renowned newspapers and magazines. She has also written lyrics for an audio cassette named Bhavanjali. She has many poems to her credit. It is a great honour to get to know about Vidushi Jaya Jog, a great musician and human being and we will continue to celebrate her brand.

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