When sarod player Abhishek Borkar, violinist Nandini Shankar and tabla exponent Ojas Adhiya were told about a new musical series — Come Together — that offers a contemporary experience of Indian classical music, the trio were delighted.
Different approach
This Sunday, Borkar, Shankar and Adhiya will wear jeans and T-shirts and head to a less formal setting, to play Hindustani classsical music for a younger crowd. Conceptualised by event company First Edition Arts, Come Together (inspired by the Beatles song) is a quarterly series aimed at exposing and promoting the genre to newer audiences.
All the musicians started young and have illustrious backgrounds. The son and disciple of Pandit Shekhar Borkar, Abhishek was trained in vocals and tabla too, but focused on the sarod. Shankar is the granddaughter of legendary violinist N. Rajam and daughter of violin player Sangeeta Shankar. Adhiya is one of the most sought after tabla players in the country, accompanying greats like Pandit Jasraj, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia and Parveen Sultana besides younger musicians like vocalist Kaushiki Chakrabarty and mandolin player U. Rajesh.
“We shall not get into the fusion space. We will play pure classical ragas which we will decide at the last minute,” says Borkar. “I will keep my rhythms simple. The music will be impromptu, based on the audience mood,” adds Adhiya. The evening will last 90 minutes with a short break. Borkar will play with Adhiya in the first half, and then join Shankar on a duet. Says the violinist, “Many of our generation know about Indian classical music but what we shall do is play it in a pure form so they get deeper into its beauty.”
Expanding the audience
Devina Dutt, director of First Edition Arts, says though Indian classical music is very creative, it has acquired an unfair reputation of being boring among younger audiences. “What we intend is to get people out of that mould, and thus we plan to have trios every three months. Other instruments like flute, sitar and santoor will be played.” First Edition Arts has organised concerts aimed at highlighting artistes like Pandit Narayanrao Bodas, Arun Kashalkar, Ashwini Bhide Deshpande, Kedar Bodas, T.M. Krishna, Jayashree Patanekar and Apoorva Gokhale. “Here, we are involving younger musicians with a broad worldwiew. They can connect with newer audiences over Hindustani classical music without dumbing it down,” emphasises Dutt.
Borkar points out they will not get into lecture-demonstration mode to explain the nuances of the ragas. “But we will keep a question-answer session at the end,” says the musician. Adds Adhiya, “All of us love connecting with people. So after the show we are willing to [talk to the audience] about our instruments.”
Shankar sums it up succinctly by saying, “Many of our generation have played in formal concert halls, worked on fusion projects and recorded videos for YouTube. This will be a totally new experience, and it seems exciting.” For a change, the silk kurtas and churidars can stay in the wardrobe. Come together, right now, over some pure Indian classical music.
Abhishek Borkar, Nandini Shankar and Ojas Adhiya will be in concert at Café Zoe, Lower Parel for the first of the Come Together series on June 10 at 6.30 p.m.; entry is ₹500
