The Sunday afternoon warmth was oppressive, however the many music lovers who had walked a few kilometres to attend the Lollapalooza India 2025 at Mumbai’s Mahalaxmi Race Course, carrying caps of various shapes and colors, didn’t appear to thoughts. Most of them had been of their 20s or 30s, ready to listen to American rock band Green Day, Norwegian singer Aurora and Kerala rapper Hanumankind, who stormed the worldwide charts final yr with ‘Big Dawgs’. Their major tastes had been totally different, however they listened patiently, and clapped often, when sitar exponent Niladri Kumar did a 40-minute fusion set. BookMyShow’s Lollapalooza India 2025 was held on March 8 and 9. This was the pageant’s third version in Mumbai, and encompassed varied genres similar to rock, pop and digital dance music to desi rap and Indian indie. Niladri’s look got here a yr after sitar participant Anoushka Shankar carried out at the pageant.
Though he did take out his conventional sitar for a couple of minutes, Niladri principally performed the zitar (electrical sitar), his creation. Accompanied by tabla participant Satyajit Talwalkar, drummer Gino Banks and keyboardist Agnelo Fernandes, he displayed a whole lot of power and spontaneity, and sometimes, his humour. After taking part in a 10-minute introductory piece, he stated, “That was only our sound-check. The real concert begins now.”
The third version of the Lollapalooza 2025 was held in Mumbai on March 8 and 9
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It wasn’t a standard classical live performance by any means. A big chunk of it consisted of improvisation spells peppered with acquainted phrases —from ‘Raghupati Raghav’ and ‘Do Lafzon Ki’ to ‘Smoke On The Water’ and ‘Fur Elise’. The 51-year-old musician knew the heartbeat of the viewers, and his focus was to maintain them entertained along with his zitar, even when seasoned ears discovered his efforts gimmicky. The broader concept was to tempt them to hearken to extra Indian classical music in future.
As Niladri stated, “Lollapalooza is a landmark event that happens in the musical calendar of Mumbai, and it’s a place where many international acts perform. Many youngsters come there to see them. But, I want the crowd that comes here to also listen to the genre I perform. I hope the music has an impact on them.”
Niladri’s efficiency came about on Ustad Zakir Hussain’s birthday. The sitarist has travelled extensively with the late tabla legend, doing quite a few classical and fusion exhibits. He was additionally part of Zakir’s Triple Concerto for the tabla, sitar and the flute, together with Rakesh Chaurasia and the Symphony Orchestra of India in 2023. “So much has already been said (about Zakir’s passing), and without being repetitive, the only thing I’ll say is that the thrill of pure, true improvisation has been lost,” stated Niladri.
Niladri was a part of Ustad Zakir Hussain’s Triple Concerto for the tabla, sitar and the flute, together with Rakesh Chaurasia
One of Niladri’s main exhibits this yr was his classical recital at London’s Barbican Centre on February 11, the place he was accompanied on the tabla by Satyajit Talwalkar. He recalled, “We faced a challenge because the show was slotted on a weekday, especially for a place that large in size. But we managed to pull that off and the hall was packed. The venue has a certain grandeur and it was great to hear the applause that keeps ringing in your ears long after the show ends.”
Niladri was educated within the sitar by his father Pt Kartick Kumar, a disciple of the legendary Pt Ravi Shankar. While he continues to play the instrument in its conventional type, he additionally felt the necessity to develop a variant that would provide a more moderen type. That’s how the zitar got here into being. “It’s not like I woke up one day and the zitar came into my hands. The process took a few years, beginning with when I started experimenting with microphones way back in 1998. However, the initial attempts did not give me what I wanted in terms of sound.”
In 2001, Niladri began experimenting with magnetic pick-ups. He defined, “This is basically an electric pick-up. Two decades ago, it wasn’t easy to buy sound equipment here. You either travelled abroad to buy, or asked someone to get it for you. So, it took time to get what I wanted. The first time I placed an electric pick-up was on my father’s sitar. He had been advised some rest, and I took his sitar without prior permission. I remember removing the sympathetic strings and sticking the Velcro and progressing as I went along.”
On a go to to Delhi, he visited the musical instrument store Rikhi Ram. He stated, “They were advertising something called the baby sitar or travelling sitar. It aroused my interest. So, I bought that sitar, and converted it by changing the configuration of strings. It was more practical. I could now travel with two sitars – my own traditional sitar and the smaller one which I named the zitar.”
The new creation, nonetheless, seemed comparable in color and form to the normal sitar. That’s when Niladri determined to provide it a brand new color. Painting Indian devices was not likely common, as a result of they in all probability thought it will tamper with the sound. But, I tapped into the science I studied in class and school to ensure the sound wasn’t affected. I in all probability would by no means personal a Ferrari, however I believed I may color the instrument in that — therefore, pink.”
Niladri believes collaborations add a brand new dimension to music
Niladri stated he wasn’t positive whether or not the zitar had succeeded in attracting a brand new viewers to classical music. “But I do know it has succeeded in making many musicians take it up, in some other form or shape or colour or name. And since many musicians have taken it up, many makers have also been making the zitar under some shape or colour or name.”
Besides quick excursions of the US and Turkey, Niladri has additionally been in talks for some collaborations. “I believe a collaboration should add a new dimension and create something that hasn’t been done before. In the long run, I also want to write a concerto, where I will create music for the sitar and an orchestra.”
Niladri hoped Lollapalooza would give him the impetus to provide you with a brand new repertoire. A shock may simply be in retailer.
Published – March 12, 2025 01:46 pm IST
