Journalism of Courage
Through the album ‘Thumri Funk’,father-son duo Ajay and Abhijit Pohankar,evoke a new fusion
During his college days,Abhijit Pohankar was ridiculed for his idea of fusing Indian classical with western music. My college-mates used to find Indian classical music very serious to listen to,especially the thumri songs that I loved. So the only way of bringing this music to them was to funk it up a bit, says Pohankar,music producer,singer,keyboardist and son of the renowned thumri maestro Ajay Pohankar.
Post the release of his 19th music album in 2008,Abhijit took a break to do an in-depth research on the possibilities of combining thumri with funk . Now,four years later,he is ready with a new album,’Thumri Funk’,in collaboration with his father. The father-son duo will be performing a few songs from their album as a curtain raiser at Barkha Ritu Monsoon Festival on July 20. The album releases in Pune in September.
“The music producers had come over to our home while my father and I were enjoying our regular jamming session. I was playing western tunes on the keyboard,while my father was singing thumri and other classical ragas. They really enjoyed our session and suggested we makethis into a full fledged album,” recalls Abhijit,who jumped at the offer right away.
The son admits that he had a tough time convincing him to merge the genres. “My father is a purist and he will not let anyone tell him otherwise and here I was,invading his space with western music,” says Abhijit. The serious discussion was followed by a spontaneous jam session. It worked and my father gave a go-ahead, he adds.
Their latest album,’Thumri Funk’ is all about human emotion. It features songs about love,bonding,separation,sorrow,joy and everything that the human heart experiences in one’s lifetime. “Indian culture is all about love,romance and monsoons. The themes for thumri are derived from this,” says Abhijit. Music videos for the songs from the album are in the pre-production stage and will be shot in picturesque locations across India.
(The duo will perform live at the Barkha Ritu Festival on July 20 at Yashwantrao Chavan Sabhaguha,Kothrud,7 pm onwards)
