A beat for every mood
The Mahindra Percussion Festival is back and aims to spotlight young artistes
Ahighlight reel from the Mahindra Percussion Festival from last year (2023) starts with slow beats.
Glimpses of the biggest names in the business — (drums) A Sivamani, kanjira exponent V Selvaganesh and bassist Mohini Dey — can be seen giving the stage their all. Sweat beads on a sea of people, artistes and audience alike, form a rare sight in the Bengaluru weather but the beats at the festival command movement. They build to a crescendo and fall, promising an exciting, bigger second edition.
Keeping with the promise, the festival is back at Bengaluru’s Prestige Srihari Khoday Centre for Performing Arts. It has also been bumped up to a twoday show on March 23 and 24.
The aim of this edition is to spotlight young artistes. While the big guns like Vikku Vinayakram and his ghatam symphony and Taufiq Qureshi’s band Surya, will be pulling their weight at the fest, the festival promises a deluge of rhythms in the form of rap, dance and a variety of instruments in the mix.
New rhythm
For instance, mridangam artiste Charu Hariharan will be on stage with a 25member ensemble, bringing together the Jenu Kuruba community from the border towns and villages of Kerala and Karnataka and the folk music group Kozhikode Nanthalakootam.
“Most artistes performing as part of this festival are new to the idea of arrangement despite knowing their compositions entirely,” she says. Jay Shah, vice president (cultural outreach), Mahindra Group, says that percussion has always been language agnostic and can be attributed to the sound of civilization. “Because of its universality, the festival boasts an interesting local and international lineup,” he says. VG Jairam, founder, Hyperlink and the festival director, says that a sense of raw energy from contemporary musicians can be expected at the festival.
The Mahindra Percussion Festival, in association with The Hindu, is cosponsored by Mahindra Finance, Paul John Visitor Centre and Carlsberg Smooth Soda and promoted and produced by Hyperlink Brand Solutions. Tickets are on bookmyshow.com