How Indias diversity inspired Shankar Mahadevan to make music

Maharashtrian folk vocalist Professor Ganesh Chandanshive, a collaborating artiste, twirls to vocals by Shankar Mahadevan at the premiere of My Country, My Music concert last year. Mahadevan will lead the second edition of the concert in Mumbai over this

Visuals of the snowcapped Hima-layas and the scenic Kashmir Valley flash across your mind each time you watch Preity Zinta, adorned in gold headgear, dance to Bhumro Bhumro in Mission Kashmir. On the other hand, you can feel the coarse desert sand under your feet when you hear the rustic foot-tapping Baawre in Luck By Chance. Both hits, composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, find roots in Indian folk music, whether it is the original Kashmiri track, Bumbro that was re-jigged for the Hrithik Roshan starrer or the Rajasthani beats that the actor matches steps to, in the 2009 film.

Also read: Give Bollywood twist to classical music, says Shankar Mahadevan

Maharashtrian folk vocalist Professor Ganesh Chandanshive, a collaborating artiste, twirls to vocals by Shankar Mahadevan at the premiere of My Country, My Music concert last year. Mahadevan will lead the second edition of the concert in Mumbai over this weekend, to celebrate music from across the country right before Republic Day

"Most film music, considered the lifeline of the masses, is influenced by Folk traditions," believes music composer and singer Shankar Mahadevan, who is set to showcase India's rich musical diversity at a concert titled My Country, My Music, this weekend, ahead of the Republic Day, at National Centre for the Performing Arts NCPA. He will lead an ensemble of 22 musicians, including Rajasthani folk singer Maame Khan and Chennai-based South Indian vocalist Manikya Vinayakam. Mahadevan will bring to fore diverse folk forms from across India including Waris Shah's seminal Punjabi folk poem Heer and the Assamese Bihu music, and blend them with popular Hindi film music.

Shankar Mahadevan at a performance in Pune

Mahadevan, whose 20-year-long musical repertoire also includes songs in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Marathi, says, "In our country, we have a song for every occasion - whether, it is birth, death, engagement, wedding, harvest, drought or even a locust attack on a farm. The real essence is captured by folk music rather than Classical music, as the latter has to be learnt. The idea is to consolidate talent and showcase the country's music legacy, rather than just a show that looks like a tourism advertisement for India."

Isha Sharvani and Hrithik Roshan in the Rajasthani folk fusion number, Baawre in Luck By Chance

Having tasted success at the group's premiere performance at Esplanade auditorium in Singapore last year, Mahadevan recalls, "We were stunned at the content that we presented. Though you know that the country has a rich musical heritage, when you see all of it together on the stage, you realise that there's a lot to be proud of."

On: January 23 and 24, 6.30 pm
At: Jamshed Bhabha Theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point.
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