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Journalism of Courage
FOUR years ago, the Buddha Bar in Paris, known as the mecca of lounge music, introduced a lilting Indian ballad to their playlist. It was a song of separation and longing, sung in Raag Darbaari, but the electronic keyboard sounds and edgy guitar riffs struck a chord with lounge lovers across the world. It was the title track of Abhijit Pohankar8217;s debut album Piya Bavari.
After dabbling in diverse styles and genres including Bollywood film music, the 30-year-old classical keyboard player has chosen to go back to what he does best. His second solo album is also a raga lounge collection unabashedly titled Piya Bavari Again.
Payalia Jhankaar, one of the tracks from the new album, which has been made into a highly stylised music video, is a 200-year-old bandish in Raag Puriya Dhanashree that goes on for over an hour during a classical concert or a mehfil.
Born in Indore and having spent most of his life in Mumbai, Pohankar8217;s musical legacy didn8217;t contribute as much to his repertoire as did the time he spent in his grandmother Dr Sushila Pohankar8217;s bungalow in Bhopal. Stalwarts like Ustad Amir Khan and others regularly visited the musicologist8217;s home. Listening to the Ustads prompted him to take up formal training in classical vocals, tabla and harmonium. But unlike his father, he chose to be an instrumentalist8212;8216;8216;I didn8217;t want to be compared with my father.8221;
Since he started playing professionally in 1997, Pohankar has collaborated with Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Pandit Jasraj and Trilok Gurtu. His tracks have been remixed by American and British DJs, and he has also worked with fusion tabla player Talvin Singh on Kaizaad Gustad8217;s Boom he was denied credit in the film. His next is an album that brings together Ghulam Ali8217;s ghazals and his father8217;s thumris.
Pohankar8217;s concerts are as varied as his sounds8212;purely classical, Ganapati occult a kind of electronic trance music played during the Ganapati Utsav in Mumbai and his trademark raga lounge, in which he uses drums, guitar and the keyboard to complement his father8217;s vocals.
By straddling various styles within the classical framework, Pohankar wants to demystify Indian classical music. 8216;8216;Nothing thrills me more than seeing a young crowd dance to classical music,8217;8217; he says.
