Date: November 26
Venue: Ravindra Bharathi, Lakdi Ka Pul
Time: 7.30 p.m.
Ganesh Rajagopalan is a violinist from the folds of Carnatic music. Debashish Bhattacharya is a Grammy-nominated slide guitarist from a Hindustani background. Their concert, titled “ Adrishta ,” presents the rare spectacle of two non-traditional Indian instruments spanning the spectrum of Indian classical music, mixing and matching raga s from both systems. Their two performances at this year's November Fest will mark the first time they are performing together in India. Adrishta was first performed at the reputed Théâtre de la Ville in Paris. Ganesh Rajagopalan, the older of the two violinists of the renowned duo Ganesh-Kumaresh, gave his first performance in 1972 when he was 7 years old.
With his brother, he has introduced a new musical expression called Ragapravaham which is an expression of the Carnatic tradition and its music in a purely instrumental format, freed from language and religious subtext.
He is a skilled soloist who also tries to marry his impeccable technique and background with various forms of music, ranging from Hindustani to jazz, folk and blues, and has collaborated with a diverse range of artists, including Zakir Hussain, John McLaughlin and A. R. Rahman. As a composer, Debashish Bhattacharya does not believe in the bifurcation of music. Universal Human Music is his faith and he believes that it gives peace and joy to believers. As a performer, Debashish has the rare ability to communicate to each and every one of his listeners through his instrument, in every performance.
He has introduced a new fingering style as well as playing style, combining thumb and index finger.
Debashish's uncanny sense of musical understanding has established him as a recording artist whose musicality matches all categories of music – Indian, classical, jazz, blues, folk or New Music. His album ‘Calcutta Chronicles,' was nominated for a Grammy in 2009.
This collaboration is a perfectly choreographed medley of two traditions, instruments, and artists to create an enthralling web of music While the thrill of a traditional jugalbandi is in the fact that there are two or more renowned musicians indulging in improvisation, this choreographed collaboration is performed after extensive rehearsal. Every piece of music that drifts from the stage has been tried and tested so as to get that perfect blend of Carnatic and Hindustani music, violin and slide guitar, Ganesh and Debashish.
For Coimbatore:
Ganesh and Debashish will be accompanied by Anantha R Krishnan (mridangam), Subhasis Bhattacharya (tabla), and Trichy Krishna (ghatam). For Hyderabad:Q and A
A brief conversation with Debashish Bhattacharya, the Grammy-nominated slide guitarist who will partner with Ganesh Rajagopalan in “Adrishta.”
How did you meet Ganesh and how did the idea of working together come about?
We met in front of Baba to receive blessings in Puttaparthi, in the November of 1994. After that we met many times in various concerts and developed an appetite to play together. We finally played together for the first time in Jamshedpur in January and then committed to each other and planned to do a duo album. The rest is history.
Both of you play Indian classical music with non-Indian instruments -- the violin and the slide guitar. Do you strive to maintain the essence of the schools you come from, namely Carnatic and Hindustani music? Or would you label your work as fusion?
We would love to say that our music is based strongly in Indian ragas. We are, in our souls, traditional and we have attempted to give a sacred place to our instruments in the unique context of Indian classical music. The violin is now considered traditional in Carnatic music whereas slide guitar is not. We do a lot of “so called” fusion. But as a duo we are extremely traditional.
What will you be playing for the November Fest this year? what can the audiences look forward to?
The audience can look forward to music at its best since the whole group is made of maestros. Music can be heard much better that it can be seen, which is why our concert is called “Adrishta.”
