Attend this two-day concert at the NCPA that uniquely showcases Indian classical music

(Clockwise from top left) Abhay Nayampally, Amit Padhye, Sridhar Parthasarthy, Harmeet Singh, Dipesh Varma and Sandeep Mishra

The National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) presents its 12th edition of One World Many Musics (OWMM) with the Dipesh Varma Collective where the percussion and djembe artiste will be in performance with an ensemble of musicians this Friday, the first day of a two-day event. Taking the stage with Varma will be Sridhar Parthasarthy, a senior percussionist playing the mridangam, kanjira, and morsing, Sandeep Mishra with the sarangi, Harmeet Singh on the tabla, Abhay Nayampally coming in with the guitar and Amit Padhye on the harmonium and keyboard. Day two of OWMM, which is scheduled for next week (October 22), will be led by pop band When Chai Met Toast, and will contribute a blend of indie folk and alternative rock and pop influences. Through these performances, the artistes will bring in a blend of traditional sounds.

Speaking about the set list planned for the opening day of the festival, Varma shares, "The list includes a mix of two cultures - South Indian Carnatic music and Hindustani classical music with the influences and flavour of world music. OWMM is a great initiative that allows musicians of different genres to explore and present their sounds." The percussion artiste notes that the evening will witness the merging of two rich cultures through a range of percussion instruments including the African djembe, along with the Western guitar and Indian stringed instruments.

Dr Suvarnalata Rao

Varma, who has been a part of Ustad Zakir Hussain's band Planet Drum's recent Grammy-nominated album In The Groove, and is also working for various film and web series projects, adds, "With Navratri around the corner, I'm excited to introduce a surprise for the audience with a special song about the festival."

Over a decade after the first edition in 2009, Dr Suvarnalata Rao, head programming, Indian Music, NCPA, explains how this year's curation follows suit of the festival's overarching aim to facilitate and ‘celebrate artistic plurality'; a coming together of sounds that blend the cultures of different regions in India and globally. "Music includes the holistic influences of a culture. When we [engage] with music and instruments from different regions, we learn more about each other and come to respect others. OWMM aims to encourage young people to experience a variety of cultures through music and strike a dialogue with them. And this collective of young musicians, through a give-and-take of their skills, will present the holistic beauty of sounds," Dr Rao concludes.

On October 13 and October 22; 7 pm onwards
At The Experimental Theatre and Tata Theatre, NPCA, Nariman Point.
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Cost Rs 300 onwards