It is time global talent looks towards happenings that are not essentially shining; ironically demanding a humanistic evaluation and reprieve! A very sensitive artiste, Anoushka Shankar directs her vision to the world around her which is highly displaced – nothing is in its place; in fact there is no place for the human being to call his/her own. Her live concert at the Siri Fort auditorium from her latest album “Land Of Gold” was a wake-up call to this part of the world that is oblivious to the chaos unravelling in Europe.
Choosing a crossover musical strain rather than the traditional classical, though the beginnings of most songs were based on our classical raga, the pieces of “Land of Gold” album dwell on the plight of the refugees shunted out as they are from the warmth of their homes in the larger context of wars being fought in the name of religion. Tracing the endless search of the displaced for safe haven in order to survive and not live as such conditions do exist for such communities, the musical pieces take us through confusion, commotion, despair, struggle and finally hope for peace and harmony in an orderly fashion underlining the truth of mankind’s constant dream to live in that non-existent land of gold. The quest for a homeland to lead a normal life with its shares of joy and sorrow, ups and lows, family and progeny that entails a sense of guarantee of shelter and freedom within a social set up has now become as precious as gold to the countless refugees who have been moving from place to place, worse off than nomads.
Prior to the concert, Anoushka shared her personal response to the exodus of these vulnerable people who could not guarantee their children a stable home while she was on the threshold of her motherhood for the second time, five years ago within the confines of her secure home. The disturbing sights of Syrian infant’s dead body washed ashore by Anoushka sowed the seed for “The Land of Gold”.
To appreciate Anoushka’s efforts, one needed to know the background. Right from the “Boat To Nowhere” to the “Reunion” culminating in the title piece, it was a seamless journey of refugee crises which isn’t really peculiar to any place as such. There is an uniformity in this displaced diversity and the strings of her sitar moved evocatively picturising the agony, the bustle, the commotion of huge gathering of humanity running helter-skelter in utter chaos and fear. The fine pluck of the meend gelled with the base in a beautiful sea of soft music conjured up the clamour of large number of people all at once trying to get into a boat to save their lives. The music changes once inside the boat which is still exposed to attack. Now we could visualise the rowing of the boat heavy with the refugees in the turbulent waters.
Breaking the boundaries, the piece “Reunion” which sounded like a wall crumbling down is just what is envisaged to happen in the end. After all we are humans! And we need to connect with each other on a land that dissolves us of all contrasts and conflicts reminding us of only one common goal – to live in peace.
If the slow-paced Arabic tunes create the illusion of reminiscing good old harmonious days, the fast-track mirrors the chase and the crusade of the uprooted humanity who are in no way responsible for their plight. In between the lines, if a discerning listener could perceive, is the emotional, innerconnect of the unaffected like us to the affected who are physically distant yet inwardly so close!
All the eleven poignant pieces — “Boat To Nowhere”, “Secret Heart”, “Jump In”, “Dissolving Boundaries”, “Last Chance”, “Remain The Sea”, “Crossing The Rubicon”, “Say Your Prayers”, “Reunion” and the “Land Of Gold” — are an asset unto themselves, pulsating with life. The musical bonanza was made even more enigmatic through diffused light play and elevated with Sanjeev Shankar’s emotive shehnai and Manu Delago (percussion) her partner in this creation.
