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| Born in Beirut,
Lebanon, Paul Livingstone (in picture) plays the sitar
and a fretless guitar of his own design. Livingstone has
also developed a unique style of playing on a
nine-string fretless guitar on which he plays Indian
ragas, jazz, and creative new music, blending ideas from
different musical traditions of the world. To him, music
is the expression of love for god. |
Giridih, Feb. 21: After
picking up the nuances of Indian classical music in Los
Angeles for 21 years, Paul Livingstone has finally got a
chance to show off his skill in India.
The 36-year-old sitar player is
having an amazing experience in performing before Indian
audiences.
“I have been learning Indian
classical music from my gurus, Omio Prasad Gupta and Pandit
Ravi Shankar for the last 21 years,” said Livingstone.
“In 1996, my first guru passed away
and thereafter, Panditji accepted my as his
shishya,” he proudly said.
A resident of Los Angeles,
Livingstone acquired his bachelor and master degrees in Indian
music and had always wanted to perform in India.
After performing in six concerts at
Calcutta in the last 20 days, the sitar player is here today
to take part in a musical evening organised by Sangeet Sadhan
Kendra, Giridih.
“During my student life, I visited
India twice, but this is the first time I am here to perform,”
he said.
“It was an amazing experience to
perform before music lovers of Calcutta. At first, I was
nervous with the people sitting in the first row looking at me
doubting whether I would justify the art.”
“But 10 minutes later, when the same
people smiled, I was relieved,” Livingstone said with a smile.
“God is showering blessings on me and I feel blessed
performing in India”.
However, Paul did not want to
compare Indian classical with western music. “While Indian
classical music is great in rhythm, the harmony of western is
better.”
“Music is the expression of love for
god. I may be a Christian, but am a Ishu Bhakt due to my
music,” he added.
From Giridih, Livingstone would
return to Calcutta before flying off to Delhi to perform in a
festival hosted by Pandit Ravi Shankar. | 
