Ethereal ragas weave magic at TOI office

KOLKATA: Ragas in their traditional form merged with western beats to create magical melody at the TOI office on Friday. Led by Indian classical slide guitarist Debashish Bhattacharya — a Grammy award nominee — fusion band ‘Calcutta Chronicles’ put up an enthralling performance, synthesizing the best of eastern and western music.
Starting off with raga ‘Chaturangi’ on the classical guitar, the four-member band went on to blend it with a sprinkling of western country music.Raga ‘Charukeshi’ followed, preceded by a passionate rendition of Bade Ghulam Ali Khan’s ‘Saiyyan Bol’. It was again fused with Hawaiian country music, creating a curious mix of melancholy and ecstasy. ‘Pillusion’ is the name given to the fusion by Bhattacharya.
“While western music is naturally rhythm-based, our music is more tuneful and melodious. Now, when you merge the two, the result is often ethereal. Pillusion only demonstrates the brilliance of this alliance. That Bade Ghulam Ali’s thumri could leave a longer impression when juxtaposed with country music would perhaps have remained unknown had we not attempted this,” said Bhattacharya. The other members of the band included vocalist Anandi Bhattacharya, Subhasis Bhattacharya on the table and guitarist Nishad Pandey.
Natural minor of western music merged with raga Joanpuri in ‘Rasam Samba’, another of the band’s fusion compositions. With samba beats punctuating the sombre raga tone, it was yet another exciting fusion, oozing a youthful exuberance. “This is just the kind of music that can draw youngsters towards Indian classical music. They can identify with the faster samba beats and in the process be initiated into a raga like Joanpuri,” explained Bhattacharya.
Rasam Samba was rounded off with a poignant rendition of ‘Chanchala mayurir e raat’ — the famous Lata Mangeshkar number — which is a take-off from Joanpuri. “This is how classical music has enriched and contributed to our popular music. Quite often, we are not even aware of the fact that we are actually listening to a raga,” said Bhattacharya.
The performance was winded up with Bhattacharya’s rendition of Tagore’s ‘Mama chitte’. Often playing the song on a slower note, Bhattacharya dissected the tune, breaking the rhythm to create a magical feel.
Bhattacharya is best known for playing ragas on his improvised slide guitar. Winner of several awards, including the BBC World Music Award, he has designed the ‘guitar trinity’ — Chaturangui, Gandharvi and Anandi by combining elements of Hawaiian guitar and the sitar. He has already bagged a patent for his innovation.
In January, 2016, Bhattacharya will organize the India International Guitar Festival in Kolkata.