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Hasheel Lodhia | At 19, he is currently in his first
year of Life Science at McMaster University. Under the guidance
of his mom and dad, he learned the basics in East Indian Classical
Vocal when he was age five. Since he was nine years old, he has
been training in under Shri Narendra Datar.
Eight years ago, Hasheel also
started playing the bansuri under the guidance of Jitendra Sharma
at Vishnu Mandir and the Western flute at school. He quickly
excelled in the field of Western music and started composing
and writing his own orchestral music at the age of 13.
Hasheel is an active part of
the Vishnu Mandir Community. He has been highly encouraged by
Dr. Budhendra Doobay and has been given countless opportunities
both during temple service and on television to perform. He has
been interviewed on the Asian Television Network as well as the
radio about his career in classical Indian music.
Hasheel has sung and performed
in many concerts in Toronto but the highlight of his performances
was when had the privilege to sing with Shri Anup Jalota at his
concert held at the Vishnu Temple.
Hasheel pursued this musical
career by taking a gap year after graduating from high school
and living in India. For seven months, he studied vocal under
Shri Padmaja Joglekar and had the privilege of studying bansuri
under the legendary Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia. He then took
the opportunity to go to Gujarat and volunteer at the Hanumant
Hospital in Mahuva for three months. His experiences in India
have shaped his character and broadened his mind and he encourages
others to pursue their interest in cultural arts.
Hasheel's dad, Chandrakant
(Chuck) Lodhia, and mom, Roopa Lodhia, were born in South Africa.
Chuck arrived in Canada in 1971 and Roopa in 1981. Hasheel has
two older brothers, Kunal and Rishaal, who grew up in Canada
as well and have also learnt to play the tabla during their schooling
years.
Both Chuck and Roopa grew up
in South Africa in a society quite rich in Hindu culture and
traditions. Their passion for East Indian music, art and dance
was well embedded before their arrival in Canada.
The biggest drawback in coming
from South Africa was that even though the mother tongues of
Gujarati and Hindi were taught at school, English was predominantly
spoken at home, hence the children are limited in their fluency
with respect to Hindi and Gujarati.
This limitation, however, did not prevent the children from learning
their religion, culture, music and art. Credit can be given to
many factors but, most important, the following are some of the
reasons why they maintained a sense of pride and security about
their heritage and culture.
1. Establishment of institutions
and Temples such as the Vishnu Temple which allowed the children
to learn religion, music and art through the medium of English.
2. Encouragement by the schools to embrace all cultures and traditions.
The children were given the opportunities to perform their cultural
music, which gave them confidence and gained peer respect.
3. Settlement of some of the finest musical teachers from India
in Toronto with whom the children were fortunate to learn from.
4. Parents' participation and influence as role models. Both
Roopa and Chuck have been fortunate to volunteer some of their
time to numerous organizations involved in the growth and preservation
of Hindu values and traditions.
In summary, both Chuck and
Roopa feel proud to be living in Canada where they have the freedom
and encouragement to share their heritage while merging with
the rest of society.
Please listen to the following sample of songs by Hasheel Lodhia
(Media Player is required to listen to the following audio and video clips)
-
Namami
Purushottam Shri Raam
This song in Raaga Ahir Bhairav is a salutation to the Lord Raam.
Hasheel's teacher in India (Shri Padmaja Joglekar) taught him
this song when he was studying this particular Raaga. Note the
finer notes within the song that have been practiced hundreds
of times until it came out to her satisfaction.
Duration - 3:30 min
(WMV Format - 4MB download)
-
Mein
Mangaldeep
This song is in Raag Yaman and starts off with some flute playing.
This introduction is purely improvisational and captures some
of the styles and moods of Hasheel's teacher, Shri Hariprasad
Chaurasia. This is another song taught to Hasheel by Padmajaji.
Duration - 5:29 min
(WMV Format - 6.3MB download)
-
Flute
Class
This was one of Hasheel's first classes with Hariprasadji's students
Sameer Rao. Sameer has been with Hariprasadji for several years
and is one of his top students. Unfortunately, there is no actual
footage of Hasheel's class with Hariprasadji, but the class format
is very similar to the video shown. Sameer would simply play
(fully improvisation) and Hasheel would have to repeat it exactly
and immediately. This particular class was in Raaga Yaman.
Duration - 4:37
(WMV Format - 13.5MB download)
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