He’s one of the most popular playback singers in the country. In fact, his music transcends languages; he has performed in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Odia, Bengali, Urdu and others. It’s safe to say Kailash Kher is famous. But on Wednesday evening, the singer launches a new avatar: that of a mentor. The bands SurFira and Indie Routes will take the stage as part of Naye Parinde Nayi Udaan, a show conceptualised by Kher. While the former will render ghazals in a contemporary format, the latter will perform modern versions of Hindi film classics.
SurFira comprises Sreekant Krishnamurthy on vocals, Aakash Patwari on guitar, Arbin Routh on violin, Manuj Dubey on percussion, Tejas Vinchurkar on flute and Vatan Dhuriya on keyboards. And Indie Routes has brothers Abhas and Shreyas Joshi. The band will include percussionist Kahaan Shah, drummer Aryaman Chatterji, bassist Paapu and guitarist Anmol Lomjel.
Kher is, naturally, optimistic. “I learnt music only by listening to it. I never knew that music had so many genres even though I have been exposed to all kinds from childhood. I always had an inclination towards this beautiful style of singing and poetry which was later introduced to me as ghazals.” This was Kher’s impetus to support and nourish one of our nation’s finest talents, whom he proudly named SurFira, as it is connected to his soul. The band is the embodiment of the singer’s imagination manifesting into reality. “And the next step of my music career,” he says.
The band member, on their part, can’t contain their excitement. “Kailashji had an inclination towards this beautiful singing and poetry from the beginning,” says vocalist Krishnamurthy. “He always wanted to do something about it [and] it inspired him to support and nourish us when he heard us.” The musicians have worked together in different combinations, but will be performing together in this line-up for the first time. “It’s been a fantastic experience,” says Krishnamurthy. “Kailashji does the writing as he has the capability of putting in new thoughts with distinction and make a difference which is impactful to all age groups. Besides songs written by him, we shall cover legends like Mehdi Hassan, Ghulam Ali and Jagjit Singh.”
While SurFira will give a contemporary touch to ghazals, Indie Routes has a more filmy plan. The brothers have been performing since they were children: Shreyas performed the first time at age three, and Abhas went on stage at four. “We will be performing our original songs along with a few popular songs from movies and private albums, which are mainly inspired from Indian folk, classical and Sufi music,” says Abhas . He adds that the aim of Indie Routes has always been to conserve rich Indian traditional music. The duo realised that they needed to present this music in such a way that it does not lose its identity and at the same time connects with the youth. “So we are trying to fuse it with a global sound, using modern instruments,” he says.
Kher concludes, “Life’s inspiration never ends, and this becomes the purpose of living to give back for all that we have received. These bands are part of my next journey.”
The road is long, deep and wide. Drive on.
Naye Parinde Nayi Udaan will take place at Nehru Centre at 7 p.m. today. Tickets to the event are priced between Rs. 200 and Rs. 800.
