Percussive ensembles are not rare, but this one dares to bring out classical beats from household utensils instead of the laya-vadhya. That’s where the Anoor legacy strikes a different chord, albeit a rhythmic and harmonious one at that!
“It’s going to be a first-of-its-kind show, I hope people like it,” says mridangist Anoor Ananthakrishna Sharma when asked about the rare ensemble he has specially composed for the ongoing Talavadhyothsava of the Percussive Arts Centre, which will be held on July 13 at 10 a.m. at the Gayana Samaja.
Why did he think of household utensils like steel, copper and bronze vessels, plates, tumblers, spoons, ladles, scissors, winnow, traditional coconut scrapers, metal chairs, buckets, basket ball, sticks and bottles filled with mustard…for a percussive exercise? How will he balance the shruti or the tones for assimilating the resonances? Would the blend bring about the right aural synthesis?
“You would be surprised to hear the diverse tones inherent in each. But creating an ‘equality of pitch’ is with the measure of strike on each one of the item. It is thrilling to experience the tonal harmony brought about in this Eka tala session, where the crescendo is a blend of the Pestle and Mortar’s shrill strikes along with the verbal laya of Konnagolu,” explains Mr. Sharma.
Mr. Sharma recalls that several years ago he heard the American group STOMP using unimaginable items for a beat-and-thumps show “and my dream strengthened further to try them out for Indian classical music,” he says.
Mr. Sharma’s ensemble will start with his composed pieces in Shanmukhapriya and Natbhairav, with flautists M.K. Pranesh and Praveen Godkhindi sailing across with some of the rarest percussive instruments such as chande, nagari, base dholak, dikki tarang, udukke, frame drums and dhamdi set for Dhruva tala and Mat taal.
