A meeting of sounds

Tonight, Folk and fusion will cross borders at a concert where Rahul Sharma performs alongside Egyptian musician Hamada Farghaly and Rajasthan’s fiesty Manganiyars

A meeting of Classical and Folk traditions always promises to make for an interesting evening. Banyan Tree’s Milan — Maestros in Harmony showcases two or more Indian and International musicians collaborating with each other. The 7th edition will see santoor maestro Rahul Sharma performing with Egyptian oud and qanoon player Hamada Farghaly, and Rajasthani Folk musicians, the Manganiars.

Devu Khan (second from left) with Kachra Khan (extreme right) of the Manganiyars

"I have performed with Hamada and the Manganiyars separately before this. In fact, I played with Hamada’s father Mohamed Farghaly, one of the finest oud players, on several occasions. We played together a month before he passed away too," shares Sharma. Farghaly, who is performing without his father in India for the first time, says he is excited about the performance because he’s sure his father is watching him. "My father loved India more than you can imagine," he says with sincerity in his voice.

Hamada Farghaly plays the qanoon

"Most Egyptians love Indian music and movies. Amitabh Bachchan and Lata Mangeshkar are legends, and Egyptians love them. The two cultures are similar and the music has a lot in common too. Egypt also has a Maqam, (a system of melodic modes used in traditional Arabic music) similar to Bhairavi in Indian Classical music. While Bayati is similar, the second note is a quarter and not a half like Bharavi. Folk songs, too, are soulful," says Farghaly who also has a special act in store for Mumbai audience as he plans to sing in Hindi.

Rahul Sharma

The two-hour performance (without an interval) will feature six compositions ranging from Folk to Jazz. "Kashmiri Folk tunes will also be performed. I have tried to compose keeping in mind the wide range of performers on stage. I will meet the performers and tell them what I have in mind, but a lot of it is improvisation on stage," shares Sharma. Devu Khan (who plays the Khadtaal) of the Manganiyars feels that their music is a gift from God. "Even we can’t explain how the different styles fuse magically," he shares.

Sharma, who is known for his collaboration with Indian and international artistes, including Kenny G and Richard Clayderman, tells us that he was inspired by Greek composer Vangelis. "When I heard his music, I wanted my music to sound like that. While I did grow up listening to a lot of Classical music, I was also listening to The Beatles and Sting. When I did Namaste India with Kenny G, the idea was to make him sound unlike his usual works and Indianise his sound in a way. I also collaborated with Deep Forest where the santoor featured with Electronica," shares Sharma.

"While my father has always played Classical music, he loves fusion too. In fact, his favourite was one album that I did, where the sound was essentially Rock. He will be at the concert too," he says, before rushing off to the only rehearsal the musicians have together ahead of the concert.

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