There is a certain aura around him; an aura of solitude that reminds you of haunting instrumental strains filling the air as you sit on that mountain top all by yourself, soaking in the twilight sights and sounds. Flute maestro Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia , who was in the city to bring the curtain down on the Hyderabad Arts Festival on Saturday, seemed poised, calm and in a rare mood to speak out on burning issues when Hyderabad Times caught up with him. Excerpts from the chat:It's not that I haven't tried to apprise the government about a pension policy for us, but I don't know why it hasn't worked out. I asked them, why are you people so angry with us musicians? How difficult it is to acknowledge our contribution towards preserving the country's cultural, musical parampara? Once I wrote to Manmohan Singh when he was the Prime Minister about my concerns and asked him what returns do we get after 'investing' with taxes for so long? The only thing you have given us are awards; Padma Vibhusan in my case. But what benefit would I get with that certificate if I were to stand in a queue at the railway ticket counter? They only need us to show to the world that this is what Indian culture is about, but don't acknowledge the fact that we are growing old and have certain needs as senior citizens; health care, for instance. It's not about me — by God's grace I will survive — but what about those who haven't been that fortunate? The only insecurity I have is what if we suddenly stop getting concerts one day!We have been paying tax and by God's grace will continue to do so as long as we can. But what about those who are pulling in their reserves to promote it? Anyway, the footfalls for classical concerts are scant. Now with this taxation system, it will get worse. The organisers will be the worst hit.Long before I teamed up with Pandit Shivkumar Sharmaji and composed music for Hindi films, I played as a session musicians for an array of magnificent composers like Khayyamji, Madan Mohanji and Shankar Jaikishan. But before that, I was an employee of All India Radio in Odisha with a monthly salary of Rs160. When I was transferred to Mumbai, I had to grab as many opportunities I could to sustain. I would make the rounds of studios; composing came much later.When the Hindi film industry's old guard got replaced, I decided to discontinue with composing for films. I wasn't happy with the kind of films they were making. There was no musical content. Sons and daughters of rich producers took on the reins of the industry and were clueless how to go about it. I didn't want to be a part of that change and happily stayed away. I told renowned lyricist Anand Bakshiji ab yeh mujhse nahin hoga, I won't trade my art and soul for this bunch of nitwits, and asked him to do the same. Offers werenever a problem for me and Shivji. Be it AR Rahman or whoever, composers were more than willing to have us compose for films, but we willingly refrained.I am sure good times for music and musicians would come back. In my gurukul, I have so many aspiring chhatras that I wonder how beautiful it would be when they take charge of things. There are so many newcomers, who are exceptionally good. They are well-read and have genuine passion for music. This world is their playground and I hope they play it well.

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