Gig review/ 49 Strings

 

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR

49 Strings - An Indian String Quartet

Artistes: Ambi Subramaniam, Mehtab Ali Niazi, Eklash Khan Langa, Dare Khan Manganiyar, Akshay Ananthapadmanabhan, Latif Khan

Presented by; Reliance Foundation 

Details: NMACC Studio, March 8

Rating; ****

We've seen plenty of Hindustani and Carnatic jugalbandis, and also many folk-fusion concerts. Here was a unique blend of north and south Indian elements with Rajasthani folk.

49 Strings, held at the NMACC Studio on Sunday, was spearheaded by composer and violinist Ambi Subramaniam. who represented the Carnatic segments. There were four stringed instruments - the number of strings, we guess, added up to 49. Mehtab Ali Niazi played sitar in the Hindustani style, and there were desert-folk contributions by Eklash Khan Langa on sarangi and Dare Khan Manganiyar on kamaicha.

The combination of three bowed pieces and one plucked instrument provided a charming mix. For the percussion, two double-headed drums were used - Akshay Ananthapadmanabhan played the Carnatic mridangam, and Latif Khan played dholak in the folk and northern styles. Add to that some solos on khartal, a set of clappers, and ghada, a variant of the ghatam pot, and the Rajasthan blend was even more complete. To break away from the predictable, there was no tabla.

What made the line-up special was its pure Indianness. There were no drum-kit or keyboards. All six musicians took equal turn in displaying their artistry, and their regular smiles showed how much they were enjoying themselves.

The selection of tracks represented a good balance too. The show began with the Rajasthani folk piece 'Avalu', whose composition was similar to the Carnatic Mayamalavagowlai and Hindustani Bhairav. This was one of the two pieces which had vocals, sung by the three Rajasthani artistes.

This was followed by a two-part rendition in raag Desh, beginning with a slower segment in Rajasthani style, followed by a quintessential Hindustani bandish. An unnamed piece using blending Indian nuances with the concept of western harmony followed, and both Ambi and Mehtab showed spontaneous interaction.

The Meera bhajan 'Saanwariyo Parnay', with its soothing sarangi and rustic vocals, took listeners to the interiors of Rajasthan. The original track 'Breathe Out', written by Ambi during the pandemic, made way for an instrumental version of 'Vaishnava Jan', originally written by Gujarati poet Narsinh Mehta.

For the finale, the musicians played an instrumental take on Purandaradasa's Kannada bhajan 'Tamburi Meetidava', composed in Sindhu Bhairavi. What was noteworthy was the way three genres blended seamlessly on this essentially southern song, as the audience clapped along to the main melody. For 90 minutes, everybody seemed to be engulfed in the purity and richness of the music - even as the Indian cricket team was piling up runs in the final against New Zealand a few hundred miles away.