Homecoming: by Anirudh Varma Collective feature around 150 artistes. Homecoming: by Anirudh Varma Collective
Rating: Three and a half stars
While singing the melodious evening glory, raga Chhayanat, popular meeting point of two rare ragas – Chhaya and Nat – revered classical vocalist Kumar Gandharva would conclude with a chhota khayal – ‘Nahi aana tum aate ho’. The piece has remained a beloved lure to the raga still. So when his grandson, Bhuvanesh Komkali, sings it along a piano, sitar, and a soothing chorus, it’s a faint reminder of that glorious past. It is sung like a straight ditty by Komkali, stripped off the resounding fling of the voice, Gandharva’s trademark staccato taans, and energetic improvisations. But what it does have is a lot of heart, compassionate vocals that give a creative rebirth for a more urban audience.
When composer, pianist, and producer Anirudh Varma’s 10-track album, ‘Homecoming’, plays along a range of modernist influences, the bold embrace feels compelling. It is also an interesting beacon of the subcontinent’s illustrious musical legacy. The album is likely to be rewarding for the listeners; even for those who consider classical music a din. The discerning ones may find it relatively rudimentary, but the brilliance in Varma’s sophomore album lies in the way it manages to find space in everyone’s world and sits comfortably there without being biased to a particular genre. For that, the credit belongs to Varma.
Homecoming, featuring around 150 artistes, is steeped in Hindustani and Carnatic classical music and is fused with a wide selection of orchestration – the keys merge with the melodies of sitar, electric guitars, tabla, sarangi, violins – that astounds and alleviates, the synthesis feels right as rain, at least in a majority of tracks.
Two of the more impressive ones are ‘Naino waleya’ and ‘Vasanthi’. The former is a Punjabi bandish in Maru Bihag, the raga that came from Ut Alladiya Khan’s ingenuity, sung splendidly by Pavithra Chari and Kshitij Mathur. It was imbibed by the Collective at the feet of vocalist Madhu Mudgal, who had learned it from his father Vinay Chandra Maudgalya, who in turn is likely to have understood it contours under the aegis of a musician from Patiala gharana. The piece connects itself to a geet in Yaman. Abhay Nayampally’s reflective alaap on the electric guitar opens ‘Vasanthi’, a relatively modern raga. But what’s quintessential to the track’s brilliance is the dramatic authority with which Delhi-based Carnatic classical vocalist Sowmya Gurucharan navigates the morning raga along some delicate drumming some Varma’s fabulous progression on the piano. It’s ethereal, Gurucharan is also featured in Stories of Kalyan, another fine melody on the album. Kalyan’s Hindustani counterpart, Yaman, makes an appearance Prateek Narsimha and Saptak Chatterjee’s captivating attempt.
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There are a couple of relatively basic tracks in terms of vocals. ‘Bihag’ is one. ‘Baajo re’ is another. Varma’s orchestration is noteworthy but the composition isn’t riveting enough. ‘Megh’ is where Varma lets it loose. The composition by Pt Rajan and Sajan Mishra whirls into lush contemporary orchestration along the bandish and creates a crescendo that leaves you asking for more. But it for a harmonious meeting of a variety of genres, created in a cohesive manner, without losing the soul of either.
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