Ranjan Kumar Srivastava. Telegraph picture

Bettiah, Jan. 21: Limitations of parents and schools and lack of interest of people in music and literature are among the prime reasons behind growing moral and social degeneration, said rising national violin player Ranjan Kumar Shrivastava, during a visit to Bettiah, his home town in West Champaran district recently.

“Music is a full-fledged subject on the 15th table of the University Grants Commission but for want of adequate knowledge, most of the people who know the art superficially, mock the art. They take it for fun or a pass time,” said Shrivastava. He added music should be an integral part of human life to save the normal sensitivity of art and culture among human beings.

After schooling from Bettiah, Shrivastava left for Chennai with a dream to become a disciple of violin maestro M.S. Gopalakrishnan. Besides getting his higher education, he also obtained a doctorate in music from Chennai.

Shrivastava feels proud that his guruji and national-level artiste Gopalakrishnan was awarded by Yahudi Menuihin, the American-born Jewish violinist, who is considered to be the godfather of violin music in the world. Like his mentor, Shrivastava, too, wants to have equal mastery in both the disciplines of music — north Indian and south Indian classical music.

Shrivastava, who has performed on several national and international stages, has distinct opinions on classical folk music. While defining them, he said: “On one hand, where classical music creates a culture for music, on the other, folk or regional music acquaint the audience with cultural fragrance of a particular region.”

Shrivastava said that Bihar presently does not have an academy and the Bihar Sangeet Natak Academy could not be re-constituted after it was dissolved by then state government about a decade ago. He said: “Whatever music concerts are being organised by the department of art, culture & tourism of the state government, they remain confined to cheap entertainment.”