Classical Twist

As I entered the auditorium, I instantly liked the setup. One of South Mumbai’s (SoBo as we prefer to call it) elite performance platforms was hosting a musical evening of raags, rhythm and more. But it wan’t the location that appealed to me. It was the structure of the audience seating and performance stage that I liked — seats gliding downwards with the stage at the base, in the centre — the most effective way to maintain a connection with the audience while performing . Unlike the previous classical music show of Pt. Shivkumar Sharma (santoor) and Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia (flute) that I witnessed and wrote about, this setup was rather informal.

I have been on both sides of a stage — on it while performing and in front of it, watching others perform. And this was a night for me to sit back and relax and devour the musical offerings of some of India’s offbeat and mainstream artistes.

It was indeed a ‘confluence’, an amalgamation of Indian and western artistry. Classical fusion isn’t a novel concept anymore. I have also mentioned this trend many a time in my articles where performers blend two or more musical influences through their voices or music instruments.

But this event was special, as one of the most popular musicians of Indian Classical Music (ICM) was partnering with fresh as well as experienced talent. The idea of classical fusion is truly personified by Pt. Vishva Mohan Bhatt. His experiments of fusing together two genres begins with the instrument he plays — the slide guitar or as he christened it, the Mohan Veena. A Grammy Award winner, inventor and maestro of the slide guitar/Mohan Veena, is known for his cross-cultural collaborations and creations. A purist of classical music in essence, Pt. Bhatt rose to fame due to his fusion creations with world-renowned musicians.

I had mentioned Pt. Bhatt’s contribution to the world of music in my article Glocal Fusion. Enlightening you about what his art and craft actually revolves around — Pt. Bhatt’s Mohan Veena that is a modified Hawaiian Guitar. It is an archtop guitar consisting of 20 strings — unlike a regular six-string guitar. Instead of using the sound hole of a guitar for the sound to resonate, Pt. Bhatt attached a Tumba, meaning a Gourd, a pot-shaped object below the head of a guitar. This element resembles a traditional veena. Just like a slide guitar or veena, this instrument is played horizontally, placing it on the lap.

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