Experience unique sounds as The Ta Dhom Project performs in Mumbai this weekend

A dhol taasha group in performance. File Pic (right) Yamini Khamkar in performance

Imagine Tupac rapping verses alongside Pandit Bhimsen Joshi. For composer Viveick Rajagopalan, this is more than just a fanciful idea. He has been in search of exploring the potential of blending diverse rhythms and structures of music across genres. The Ta Dhom Project featuring The Dhols of Maharashtra will take stage at the Royal Opera House on Saturday to provide proof of its results.

"The roots of Ta Dhom lie in connecting communities or genres. In defining their individual forms, musical genres also tend to become isolated," Mumbai-based Rajagopalan explains. As a musician, he sought to eliminate these distinctions. Thus, the Ta Dhom Project came into being in 2017.

(From left) Viveick Rajagopalan with MC Khoj at a performance

For 44-year-old Rajagopalan, the project is as much a social experiment as a musical one. "It has several layers. On one hand, I thought that if rap is unconventional, why not use mridangam as a central rhythm? On the other hand, I wanted to explore the possibility of incorporating Carnatic music or folk rhythms in rap or vice versa," he explains. The Ta Dhom Project album that was released in 2022 is an example. It features the rap verses of the MC Khoj, MC Dehaati and MC Mawaali layered upon traditional Indian rhythms and forms.

The weekend concert will feature a new addition of the ensemble, Dhols of Maharashtra - Swarangi Savdekar and Yamini Khamkar on dhols with Pranav Dixit and Guarang Dalvi on taasha. A popular sight in festivals across Maharashtra, the dhols have never truly been utilised in a concert before. The composer shares that to do this, the team worked over 30 hours on "designed, constructed and composed ideas."

"The rigour is where growth happens," Rajagopalan emphasises, "The concert is a manifestation of the work. The musicians gain a new grammar about rhythms." Above all, it is about people telling stories through music. "In Tamil, we call it a kutcheri - a gathering of people sitting down and communicating through music. It must have depth, but should not become so intellectual that you forget to have fun," Rajagopalan drums it home.

On: June 10; 7 pm
At: The Royal Opera House, Matthew Road, Girgaum.
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Cost: Rs 299 onwards