Gig review/ Weaving Voices at Mahindra Roots Festival

Concert: Weaving Voices at Mahindra Roots Festival 

Directed by: Roysten Abel

Details: Bal Gandharva Rang Mandir Bandra, February 24

Rating: *** 1/2

(Pre-joinder: Don't just skip past the images - mull over them in the context of the article)

As one entered Bandra's Bal Gandharva Rang Mandir on Friday evening, one wasn't really sure what lay in store. All we knew was that it was a thematic concert called Weaving Voices, directed by Roysten Abel, known for blending music with theatre and storytelling. We also knew it would feature Carnatic vocalist Bombay Jayashri, dhrupad maestro Uday Bhawalkar and six other musicians.

It was the opening night of the three-day Mahindra Roots Festival, spread over three diverse venues. From the title, we guessed the show might probably bring together different voices and instruments, but had no idea what the format or structure would be. In some ways, our feelings while entering the auditorium were like the image above - hazy and shaky, but still filled with anticipation. To add to the suspense, the speakers played mild but haunting music.

Things became clearer when the artistes, dressed in white, took their positions below their photographs. From left to right of the audience, there were mridangam player Sumesh Narayan, singer M.D. Pallavi, flautist Rasika Shekar, Bombay Jayashri, Bhawalkar, violinist Apoorva Krishna, Manganiyar singer Deu Khan and tabla exponent M.T. Aditya Srinivasan. 

For a while, things were still unclear. Sumesh looked like he was just tuning as the spotlight focused on him, a blurb telling his story on the screen. Aditya sat around over his tabla set, again not doing much. We were told the show would last 100 minutes, and one hoped things would move somewhere. Restlessless crept in, and a surreal, horror movie-style tune enveloped the air. And then it all began... 

Bhawalkar sang a dhrupad alaap after which Apoorva was joined on a magnificent violin by Sumesh on mridangam. Pallavi sang a Kannada song about telling her sister of a dream she saw. Rounding off with Jayashri's introduction, each musician did their part. Like during Apoorva's solo captured below as the light focused on her, the big screen showed each artiste walking down an empty road, greenery on each side. The blurbs on the screen talked of how they got into music, chose their domain and related with their guru. One guesses there would be different interpretations, but for this blogger, it was symbolic of a journey a musician takes - it's a long road but if one heads in the right direction after having received the correct training and guidance, there's hope all along.

The introductory section was perhaps a bit too long. The time given to each musician wasn't equal. Maybe the director had something specific in mind.

The introductions over, the tempo slowly built up. It was somewhat like a Hindustani instrumental performance where a long and elaborate alaap is followed by a melodic jod - the difference being that rhythm accompanient was present all through. 

Various permutations and combinations were used, and things just flowed, the tempo raised to create a jhala-like build-up to the finale.

From Rasika's flute solo, Khan's Rajasthani folk-meets-Sufi vocals and Jayashri's's Carnatic gamakas to Bhawalkar's rendition of 'Room Jhoom Bhar Aaye Naina Tihari', there were tonnes of fabulous moments. The coordination and timing were just perfect.

Even as the music charmed the audience, the visuals behind told a parallel story. Though it isnt clear in the image above, the blurb says, "This music is in my blood". There are blow-up shots of the musician, posing as though they're saying what's in the accompanying text, like Pallavi is doing in the photograph below. "Music is also the easiest, most beautiful way to extend yourself to someone, and I love that it's possible to look for and find magic in music".

This surely was a fabulous idea, but one had to strain one's eyes to read the words and simultaneously associate them with the music of that moment. And when the audio really took over, the visuals became secondary.

For many people, fond of energetic drumwork, one of the highlights was the rhythm interaction between tabla, mridangam and khartaal, the wooden clapper used in Rajasthani folk music and presented here by Khan in the typical manner of kneeling and playing in a unique posture.

This was followed by the coming together of all musicians, like they had reached their destination. Appropriate visuals adorned the backdrop, as eight musicians walked together in unison, like the music they had created.

Clearly, this was a fabulous concept, with superb music accompanied by great visuals. Roysten Abel came for the final thanksgiving. He wore a white shirt too, though his black trousers perhaps wanted to declare his role was different. In true theatre style, those behind the scenes were also appreciated, namely Resul Pookutty for sound design, Amardeep Bahl for stage set-up and Sarah Eapen for costumes. The musicians got a well-deserved standing ovation.

As anticipated, people spoke of their feelings about and experience at the show. This happened in the lobby, over dinner at nearby restaurants, on WhatsApp groups and Facebook, spilling over to the next two days as the festival was continued at Bandra Fort Amphitheatre and AntiSocial in Lower Parel.

Most attendees raved about the show, and how so many musicians with different backgrounds could come together. Some also talked of what didn't work for them, or what they felt could have been better. Below this picture, which shows different people in the auditorium lobby and also symbolises different reactions, we carry some of the 'woven' voices we heard or overheard from known or unknown people. These may be taken as part of the feedback to the show.

Voice 1: I loved the whole idea and the music but felt they could have shortened the opening introductions. They seemed to go on and on. Though things picked up when Bhawalkar began singing, that whole segment seemed slow. Of course things suddenly picked up.

Voice 2: The person who came as a revelation was Pallavi. What a voice and what range. She could do anything with it. Gooseflesh.

Voice 3: They should have kept the written text to the beginning. After a point, it lost the novelty element. I stopped reading. Also, the visuals became repetitive.

Voice 4: With my background in art and design, I paid a lot of attention to the visuals and text. I read each word and everything went so well with the music. A lot of thought has gone into creating it. 

Voice 5: I don't know what instrument he played but he was from some other planet (the reference was to Deu Khan with his khartaal). Actually I don't know much about Indian music but I felt the vibe. There's so much of good music in India and concerts like these show the diversity.

Voice 6: We had two styles from the north and two from the south. There should have been something from east India.

Voice 7: The sound was fabulous overall but there were times in the beginning when they tried to over-do stuff. Like when Apoorva was playing the violin, there were these sudden side-effects sounding like rain or thunder. It just messed up things.

Voice 8: The percussionists were good but that interactive section was predictable and formula-driven. We see that at every fusion show and in Carnatic concerts during the thani avartanam section. We saw great percussion at the Shakti concert last month by Zakir Hussain and Selvaganesh.

Voice 9: I am familiar with Jayashri and Bhawalkar. But it was good to see so many others like Rasika, Apoorva, Pallavi and Deu. Rasika's portion was my favourite. I am a Chaurasia fan.

Voice 10: It was an amazing performance, with audio, video and narrative coming together. There are surely areas of improvement and one can always improvise based on the reactions of the audience.

The last quote probably sums up the whole event. It, along with some of the reactions above, also explains why this blogger gave a *** 1/2 rating and not ****. We're surely looking forward to the next performance. Abel has directed the fabulous The Manganiyar Seduction and The Manganiyar Classroom, and this is another feather in his cap. Maybe the feather needs a slight touch-up, but with such a theme and as the picture below symbolises, the sky's the limit.

(Note: Four images have been taken from the blogger's cellphone and the others have been sourced from the Mahindra Roots Festival Instagram page)