13 Questions: Kuljit Bhamra

by Ouch Team

3rd September 2009

For 17 years, Kuljit Bhamra lived a quiet life as a civil engineer. Now, he is a hugely respected, multi-award winning, MBE holding, British Asian musician. Mr. Bhamra has produced music for many films including Bend It Like Beckham and Indiana Jones& The Temple Of Doom. He's really passionate about bringing together instruments and music styles from various cultures and was heavily involved in transforming Punjabi music into a new dancefloor sound.

A polio surviver, Kuljit will be rounding off Liberty in Trafalgar Square this Saturday with an Indian drumming extravaganza. Before watching him at work, learn what makes him tick as he answers 13 Questions.

Not a lot of people know that I ...

Am shy. When I wake in the morning, my boot up disk says shy and slightly separate, but the volume is much lower on that than it used to be. I was embarrassed about my leg, I walk with a limp, but now see it as a blessing in disguise. If I can be with myself, then I can be with anybody and therefore they can be with me without feeling insecure.

I want to ban ...

Violence and bullying. I believe it is possible for people to learn to honour each other's differences and celebrate diversity rather than bully others into doing what they want.

The best piece of advice I would pass on is ...

Live life fully, because it is precious and you might get run over tomorrow. I bring that mantra to wherever I am and whoever I am with during each day, acknowledging my demons and fears and then trying my best to put them to one side and live for the moment.

I struggle with ...

The idea that one day I am not going to be here. People are going to carry on living and enjoying themselves and I'll be somewhere else. I don't know where it is, or if there even is somewhere else.

I excel at ...

Inspiring people to fulfil their dreams. When they see me coming on stage with my walking stick at large concerts, they think, if he can do it I can do it.

My ideal dinner guest would be ...

Spike Milligan. I loved his ideas. He was a really good writer, comedian and poet and had a handle on life that was not immersed in a normal every day style of thinking. So off the wall.

If I didn't live in the UK, I'd live in ...

Two places. My main home would be in Amsterdam and I'd have a holiday home in Goa. I love water. Amsterdam has canals and I really like the people and atmosphere there. I am Indian, but Punjab and Deli are just too full on for me. Goa is by the sea and more comfortable.

I couldn't live without ...

Music. I listen to it almost all the time and it is the sound track to my life. Sometimes music's got a function for me. With classical, I'm not really listening but it needs to be there in the background. I also like to go to clubs and listen to house music and of course I am a musician myself.

Where do you spend most of your time?

In my car. When I'm on tour in the UK, I prefer to drive than fly, even if the journey is 4 times longer. It sets my mind free completely. I have all my music there and I can think. All my best ideas come when I'm driving. I'm always stopping to write things down.

My first job was ...

As a civil engineer designing highways. Then I went on to design speed humps. That is when I realised that there must be more to life, so I went into music instead.

Being a disabled Asian musician is ...

Being a disabled Asian musician is ...
For me, this question is really about being disabled and Asian. The Asian community still looks at me with a lot of pity and believe I have lead an unfortunate life. My mother never thought I would find my own woman and still blames herself for not getting me vaccinated for polio. I received an MBE recently. Now they look up to my achievements but still feel sorry for me. It's a mixture of pride and pity.

I hope that playing at liberty will be …

Fun. Most people haven't experienced the power of Indian drumming, so it will be a new experience for the audience, hearing less familiar sounds.

I would like to be remembered for …

My ability to push musical boundaries. I've worked a lot on notation systems for tabla, which has always been Taught orally before. I have also created systems so that musicians can collaborate using instruments outside the traditional orchestra. I want people to write a tabla concerto. I want them to include something new in their compositions like Northumbrian pipes, the Paraguayan harp or the Mongolian nose flute.

•Liberty, London's disability arts festival, takes place in Trafalgar Square on Saturday the 5th of September between 1 and 6 PM. As well as Kuljit Bhamra, Ouch will be there with our live show in the comedy tent and a stand in the exhibition area. If you are in the area, be sure to pop in for a chat and maybe even a memory stick.

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