High pitch, low pitch

Composer Dhruv Ghanekar is up in the hills or in the sea, when he's not in his recording studio.

Music director Dhruv Ghanekar always has his hands full. If he is not composing music for films, he is doing it for TV commercials. If that is not enough, the talented composer has now launched his solo debut album called Distance. “Music takes up most of my time and I don’t have much of a life outside it,” he chuckles.

Much of his life outside, though, involves adventure sports. When not in his studio, Ghanekar is out in the woods or hills, trekking away, or he is off to exotic islands for scuba diving.

“I have always loved outdoor activity, and adventure sports give you a great high,” says Ghanekar who composed the music for the recent movie Drona. He often heads off to places like Matheran, or places in north India, for his trekking sojourns. “There are beautiful places near Mumbai where you can find some excellent trekking trails,” he says.

It’s trekking, he feels, that he gets the most out of, as it presents unique challenges. “When in the hills, you don’t know what you might encounter and it is a great test for your mental and physical strength,” he adds. He believes that trekking in the mountains is one of the most enlightening experiences of one’s life. And, there, one gets to see a totally different side of one’s own personality, he believes.

When he does head off for his adventure sports activities, Ghanekar ensures that he is completely away from work. But he always carries a guitar with him. “Can’t help that,” he says. Ghanekar is one of the finest guitar players in the country and has collaborated with many musical artistes from all over the world. like Bob Belden from the USA, NoJAzz from France and Norwegian artist Mungolian JetSet.

Ghanekar runs his own music production house, called Smoke Music Productions, which has produced music for over 3,000 commercials. Ask him whether he prefers Hindi movies or commercials, and he says, “Both are different and I enjoy doing them equally.”

He says that he has recently taken to scuba diving as well, and although he is nowhere close to being an expert in it, he loves it immensely. “It’s an amazing experience and I am hoping to become a pro in it soon.” That is, if time allows.

Scuba diving might be an activity that he has picked up only recently, but trekking has always been a part of his life. As a student, he used to be an avid trekker back in his college days, but these days it’s an extremely restricted activity, though he tries to do it whenever he has some off-time.

Our conversation, inevitably, leads to music. Ghanekar (who studied Hindustani classical music as a teenager) has an enviable collection of guitars. Well, what do you expect from a musician? But Ghanekar says that he wants to build a huge, and not to be forgotten, a rare collection of guitars. He picks an African guitar from his collection as his all-time favourite. “It’s a rare guitar in black, something which you won’t find anywhere,” he tells me proudly. Collecting guitars is an expensive hobby, and he knows that. But all logic gets defied when it comes to guitars, he grins.

His latest album, Distance, marks his debut in the jazz genre, and he is looking forward to the reactions. “It’s the first time we have tried to blend jazz with Indian classical music,” he says.

Back to trekking, though, and Ghanekar says that there are many places that he wants to visit, to do some really arduous treks. “India has so many wonderful places and I would love to explore them, especially the hills,” he enthuses.

So, does he intend to explore other adventure sports activities like bungee jumping or water sports? “No, I don’t think so”, he says. Scared? Nothing like that, he says. “Just that it doesn’t appeal to me too much and I would rather be hiking or trekking.”

As much as his love for music remains strong, there are times when he does rue his busy schedule. “Music remains my passion and will continue to be so.” He is looking forward to his new album as much as he is to his next trekking sojourn. When that will happen, he is not too sure, but “I am definitely looking forward to heading off to the hills,” he says excitedly.