Jungle drums and techno beats
This weekend, Bengaluru brings home music that is as eclectic and diverse as its inhabitants
spectrum at Catharsis, the gig also includes rock band Vinyl, who are inspired by everyone from Billy Joel to The Beatles and Pink Floyd. Rounding off the lineup are singersongwriter Ramyaa Hariharan and psychedelic rock/shoegaze band Himalayan Sky.
This edition of Catharsis promises an eclectic lineup that is bound to captivate and electrify. A description for the event adds, “Catharsis Vol. 3 invites you to embrace the spirit of discovery, transcend musical boundaries, and experience the thrill of live
music.”
For someone as accomplished as violinist Mysore Manjunath who has bagged national and global awards and performed in 40 countries, his enthusiasm to perform at the SVN Rao Centenary event at the Sree Ramaseva Mandali Trust at Nettigere, is refreshing.
“It is an honour for my children Sumanth Manjunath, Malavi Manjunath and I to pay tribute to classical music promoter SVN Rao for whom music was life. We have a long association with the Mandali — my brother Nagaraj and I are grateful to SVN for his encouragement,” says Manjunath, who spoke while travelling to Mysore, after a concert at Dharwad.
“The violin has been the life and soul of our family and it is gratifying that the third generation is continuing this legacy,” says Manjunath with quiet pride, when asked how it felt to have his children join in the family tradition.
“My father, Mysore S Mahadevappa, while receiving the Sangeetha Kalarathna of Bangalore Gayana Samaja in 2013 had commented, ‘I don’t know how much I have done to receive this, but I am content that my students, most importantly my sons, Nagaraj and Manjunath, are taking my violin legacy forward. Can a guru or father ask for more?’ My father would have been
March 16 and 17, 12 pm onwards
NICE Ground, Madavara
Tickets: ₹899 per day, via Insider.in The traveling food and culture festival Zomaland stops by Bengaluru this week with a heavyhitter lineup. That includes headliners such as hiphop and pop artiste KING and IndoCanadian pop artiste Jonita Gandhi who recently released her new EP Love Like That. Also on the lineup are folkindie quartet When
Chai Met Toast with their euphoric, arenaready tunes, hiphop artist Hanumankind with his highenergy set, singersongwriter Anoushka Maskey, hiphop duo Shia x Zero Chill, DJproducer Tranquil and singersongwriter Arijit Anand, among others. Comedians Atul Khatri and Gaurav Kapoor also feature on the lineup, making Zomaland an allout entertainment festival. thrilled that a third generation is continuing the tradition.”
Mahadevappa, recalls Manjunath, had cherished teaching Sumanth as a grandpaguru. “His teaching of kritis, raga and neraval was far more affable when compared to the rod of discipline Nagaraj and I experienced. Later, I took over Sumanth’s education. Learning to play the violin to master the instrument, and conditioning a musician to be concert ready are two different dimensions of learning and presentation.”
“Today, I am happy that Sumanth, who has a Masters in music and is planning to a pursue a PhD in music, has had solo concerts at international festivals and has held workshops in more than 15 countries, including Oxford and Cambridge Universities, over the past few years. He is preparing for another Europe tour in April.”
Manjunath’s daughter Malavi, named after the traditional Carnatic raga, who is in class VIII, “wants to catch up with her brother.” As a child, Malavi began vocal training with her grandfather, and later had her father’s guidance in learning the violin. “Three months ago we had her rangapravesha on the violin at the Yadugiri Yathiraj Mutt in Malleswaram in Bengaluru. She has been playing solo and with Sumanth as well. During our practice sessions, the three of us concentrate on improvisation and creative renderings, as kritis have to be extended to see imaginative and inventive renderings to establish an identity,” says Manjunath.
“It was at one of our sessions at home when Malavi was learning about the different melodic pieces of the Hindola raga that she ascertained the different techniques and nuanced fingering that calls for handling the raga and emotions in lyrics differently.”
The math and grammar of presentation that decides the speed, and the phrases that necessitate different strings of play were also Malavi’s special areas of interest. At one of those rigorous practice sessions when Sumanth attempted some speeding phrases that he expected his sister to follow, she stopped, her eyes wide in disbelief that the bow and finger could keep up such a cadence! It only took Manjunath a day to inspire her into learning the finer distinctions of playing, to get her to smile again.
Violinists Mysore Manjunath and his children Sumanth and Malavi will perform at Sree Ramaseva Mandali Trust, Nettigere, on March 16 at 11.30am. Call 9482965659 or mail sreeramasevamandalitrust@gmail.com for details.
In a rare occurrence, Mysore M Manjunath will perform with his children at the SVN Rao centenary