The schedule
After the fabulous response to its inaugural edition held in Bengaluru on March 18, 2023, the Mahindra Percussion Festival (MPF) returns as a twoday event this year. The venue will be Prestige Srihari Khoday Centre for Performing Arts.
To be held on March 23 and 24, the festival features a formidable lineup including ghatam maestro Vikku Vinayakram, djembe exponent Taufiq Qureshi, mridangam players Viveick Rajagopalan and Charu Hariharan, drummer Darshan Doshi and Bengaluru band Swarathma. Going by this list, it’s evident that there will be enough variety as the musicians collaborate to create fresh sounds. This has been the trend at such drum fests, whose popularity has increased over the years.
Says drummer Darshan Doshi, who is performing with the group Rhythms of India, “Besides the regular western drum kit, one can hear different types of percussion, from Hindustani and Carnatic to folk and Bollywood.”
The concept of percussion festivals isn’t new. Taal Vaadya concerts and Guru Purnima events dedicated to percussion teachers have been popular for a long time. The annual Barsi concert held in Mumbai, as a homage to legendary tabla artiste Ustad Alla Rakha, has featured many Indian artistes and wellknown international drummers such as Billy
Cobham, Vinnie Colaiuta, Pete Lockett and Simon Phillips, Congrero Giovanni Hidalgo, Sikiru Adepoju and Japanese taiko drummer Leonard Eto.
In 2016, drummer Gino Banks launched Mumbai Drum Day, inspired by a similar event organised by Modern Drummer magazine. “Though the focus was the western drum kit, they also had different genres. I wanted to do the same in India. Over the years, we have attempted different themes. In 2023, we had a western drummer play an Indian percussion instrument. This year, with Ustad Zakir Hussain in the lineup, we focused more on world music,” he says.
“Festivals such as MPF help turn the spotlight on drummers. In a regular concert, they get noticed only during their solos,” says Gino, who performed in the 2023 edition.
After Mumbai Drum Day found the right groove, the concept moved to other cities. Drummer Arun Kumar began curating the Bengaluru Drum Fest in 2019. Last year, tabla exponent Subhen Chatterjee and his drummerson Sambit Chatterjee, curated the first Kolkata International Drum Festival.
These events feature percussionists from across the country. The audiences are a good mix of connoisseurs and lay listeners. Says Darshan, “Different people relate to drumming in different ways. The diverse lineup enhances the appeal.”
Says Taufiq Qureshi, who has adapted Hindustani rhythms to the African djembe, “I’ve seen people taking a sudden liking to the djembe after seeing me or my son Shikhar Naad Qureshi play on stage. Many youngsters now want to learn this African instrument. After the pandemic, online classes have become regular.”
At MPF, Taufiq Qureshi will lead his group Surya, which has taken on many avatars since its formation in