Santoor and guitar at OAT, IITB
Its "Mood Indigo" time at IIT Bombay. The most popular youth and collegiate festivals in all of India. Companies falling over each other to sponsor events at the festival (apparent from the hundereds of banners and posters that littered the green surroundings). They have many events at MI and one of them is the "Confluence Nite" - at which some top rated performers of classical music are invited to perform. This time it was Shiv Kumar Sharma (Santoor) and Vishwa Mohan Bhatt (Mohan Veena - acutally a modified guitar). The concert was at the OAT - Open Air Theatre at IIT Bombay.
I went with a friend, who is currently a student at IITB and hence he was able to get a pass for me. The pass said 6.30 pm and we were in the already-long-by-then queue by 6 pm. And as always by the time the first notes of the santoor were struck, it was already 7.30 pm. But not before frisking and all - probably they think people would want to blow up IITB and the kids in there. The pass said that theyd thouroughly frisk the ladies and their purses too - perhaps to let the kids of IITB have some first time lessons in womens handbags and their contents.
SKS
Ok, Shiv Kumar Sharma is a top notch player. As he announced - he's been playing for the IIT kids for the last 25 years - and how happy and all he is to be invited again and again (perhaps the MI guys pay him well for this 100-string knockfest). He also told some crappy story about how some kids in "America" came upto him after a concert in the US, and told him theyd heard him play at MI over 24 years ago. Long live America - thats the motto of IITB anyway.
He does play well. Infact his name is synonymous with the santoor. He played two peices - the first one being "Rag Yaman". The second one - I forget the name - but it was more for the live-uneducated-in-music-type-of-audience - since it was full of top speed riffs on his santoor and the speed play by the pakhawaj player ( Bhawani Shankar) and the tabla player (Viyay Ghate - who is indeed good) and all sorts of histrionics. It got them the desired applause from the kids and profs. What one also did notice was that everytime the kids went up in a roar of applause (perhaps after a speed demo or a subtle tring-tring) - theyd focus the bright flood lights on the crowds - so that perhaps old SKS and party can have a good look at the clappers.
SKS has this huge mop of stylish hair and this adds to his "brand value". Both the percussionists too sported long hair - all for the desired glamour flashes - jerking their heads and all while belting out 100km/hr beats on their drums. This feature and get-up is observed in almost all male classical performers. So that perhaps if they dont play too well, their get-up can compensate for their presence.
VMB
Vishwa Mohan Bhatt - of The Mohan Veena fame - was next. Only that he was along with a flute player - some Ronu someone. This Ronu guy seemed to be rather good at stealing the show from old VMB. He started off with one of his own "compostions". Actually what they were playing was "fusion" or "world music" as its called these days. This kind of music keeps a classical base but leaves out the "boring technicalites" of classical style and replaces that with the show-gimmicks of popular and rock-and-roll kind of music. Hence Fusion.
My personal take on this is that this music is rather a form of "fission" - netither here nor there - for it takes apart both the classical part as well as the rock part. But then if kids are willing to pay up and buy their music and attend their shows, then why blame Ronu and VMB. This is a business too.
Anyway VMB did play a few songs - named unimaginatively like "Song of love" or "Everlasting Love" or "Encounter" etc. - nothing related to the song perhaps. Maybe I'm being too critical of this type of musical fare, having not heard much of this myself. So in a way ive probably no right to comment on this. But still .....
VMB also played his Grammy winning peice - I forget the name. It was allright - but I really dont know what the Grammy boys were doing when they decided to give old VMB the award. Perhaps the other nominees that year were just banging plates and spoons.
Anway VMB pulled a big one when he said that IITB's MI was the answer to the "Woodstock" festival. Lets not get into this pointless debate but I must add a point of triviality. The IIT kids were frisking you like anything for cigarettes and "narcotics - as their pass said" . And whoever has any idea of "Woodstock" knows what happened there in the sixties. So much so for comparisions.
VMB also was almighty pleased that he was at MI again. (The green bucks speak for themselves). He also let out the trio war-cry leading with a "hip-hip" ... and "hooray" yelled out the kids and profs. After all he had just proclaimed that MI was the answer to Woodstock.
I thought VMB could be better. He's good at his instrument and it would be worthwhile if he plays more in the Indian style rather than leaning on foriegn names and personalities. A little good would be done if he leaves behind the "fusion" or "fission" style for sometime.
All in all, a good show.
(It was free !!!! ) The kids had written on their pass that the pass cannot be sold.
I went with a friend, who is currently a student at IITB and hence he was able to get a pass for me. The pass said 6.30 pm and we were in the already-long-by-then queue by 6 pm. And as always by the time the first notes of the santoor were struck, it was already 7.30 pm. But not before frisking and all - probably they think people would want to blow up IITB and the kids in there. The pass said that theyd thouroughly frisk the ladies and their purses too - perhaps to let the kids of IITB have some first time lessons in womens handbags and their contents.
SKS
Ok, Shiv Kumar Sharma is a top notch player. As he announced - he's been playing for the IIT kids for the last 25 years - and how happy and all he is to be invited again and again (perhaps the MI guys pay him well for this 100-string knockfest). He also told some crappy story about how some kids in "America" came upto him after a concert in the US, and told him theyd heard him play at MI over 24 years ago. Long live America - thats the motto of IITB anyway.
He does play well. Infact his name is synonymous with the santoor. He played two peices - the first one being "Rag Yaman". The second one - I forget the name - but it was more for the live-uneducated-in-music-type-of-audience - since it was full of top speed riffs on his santoor and the speed play by the pakhawaj player ( Bhawani Shankar) and the tabla player (Viyay Ghate - who is indeed good) and all sorts of histrionics. It got them the desired applause from the kids and profs. What one also did notice was that everytime the kids went up in a roar of applause (perhaps after a speed demo or a subtle tring-tring) - theyd focus the bright flood lights on the crowds - so that perhaps old SKS and party can have a good look at the clappers.
SKS has this huge mop of stylish hair and this adds to his "brand value". Both the percussionists too sported long hair - all for the desired glamour flashes - jerking their heads and all while belting out 100km/hr beats on their drums. This feature and get-up is observed in almost all male classical performers. So that perhaps if they dont play too well, their get-up can compensate for their presence.
VMB
Vishwa Mohan Bhatt - of The Mohan Veena fame - was next. Only that he was along with a flute player - some Ronu someone. This Ronu guy seemed to be rather good at stealing the show from old VMB. He started off with one of his own "compostions". Actually what they were playing was "fusion" or "world music" as its called these days. This kind of music keeps a classical base but leaves out the "boring technicalites" of classical style and replaces that with the show-gimmicks of popular and rock-and-roll kind of music. Hence Fusion.
My personal take on this is that this music is rather a form of "fission" - netither here nor there - for it takes apart both the classical part as well as the rock part. But then if kids are willing to pay up and buy their music and attend their shows, then why blame Ronu and VMB. This is a business too.
Anyway VMB did play a few songs - named unimaginatively like "Song of love" or "Everlasting Love" or "Encounter" etc. - nothing related to the song perhaps. Maybe I'm being too critical of this type of musical fare, having not heard much of this myself. So in a way ive probably no right to comment on this. But still .....
VMB also played his Grammy winning peice - I forget the name. It was allright - but I really dont know what the Grammy boys were doing when they decided to give old VMB the award. Perhaps the other nominees that year were just banging plates and spoons.
Anway VMB pulled a big one when he said that IITB's MI was the answer to the "Woodstock" festival. Lets not get into this pointless debate but I must add a point of triviality. The IIT kids were frisking you like anything for cigarettes and "narcotics - as their pass said" . And whoever has any idea of "Woodstock" knows what happened there in the sixties. So much so for comparisions.
VMB also was almighty pleased that he was at MI again. (The green bucks speak for themselves). He also let out the trio war-cry leading with a "hip-hip" ... and "hooray" yelled out the kids and profs. After all he had just proclaimed that MI was the answer to Woodstock.
I thought VMB could be better. He's good at his instrument and it would be worthwhile if he plays more in the Indian style rather than leaning on foriegn names and personalities. A little good would be done if he leaves behind the "fusion" or "fission" style for sometime.
All in all, a good show.
(It was free !!!! ) The kids had written on their pass that the pass cannot be sold.
posted by Who's Blog - WGFA - CS | 3:53 PM
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