Drums Shivamani: Indian percussion sounds are unique in their own way

Even though celebrated Indian percussionist A Shivamani commonly known by his stage name Drums Shivamani has been performing for over four decades He plays many instruments including drums octoban darbuka udukai ghatam and kanjira He also performed during the IPL Championships in 2008 and 2010ldquoThis energy is not mine It belongs to the universe The audience is my energy the 63yearold tells Midday Online in an interviewAmong many other performances till now in 2023 he also graced the stage at the inaugural Mahindra Percussion Festival in Bengaluru earlier this year The Chennaibased percussionist who is a stalwart in the industry was joined on stage by other acclaimed Indian percussionists such as Ranjit Barot V Selvaganesh and Gino Banks He has a huge fan following in the country and is an extremely creative percussionistHere are the edited excerpts of the interview where Shivamani speaks about his love for percussion and favourite instruments He also delves into the need for a percussiononly festival his love for the stage and the future of Indian soundsHow does it feel to perform and have a festival like Mahindra Percussion Festival solely dedicated to percussions Do you believe it was high time to have a festival like this in IndiaThe Mahindra Percussion Festival takes me back to 1984 when the Taal Vadya Percussion Festival where Zakir Hussain Bhai Trilok Gurtu Bhai and me performed with a lot of great drummers in the world It should happen every year not for one day but for two to three days It will be great for all musicians and on the final day all the great musicians will performWhat would you say is the unique aspect about Indiarsquos percussion sounds and has that changed over the decadesIndias percussion sounds are unique in their own way because they have their own sounds Now there is a trend that whatever comes becomes popular Like in Africa there is djembe or drum and bass or fusion it is all in a particular time Indias percussion is the best and unique sound in the worldIn more than four decades that you have been active how have you seen the perception of percussion change in IndiaIn this life I am really blessed to be a percussionist playing from Day 1 for the movie industry and then for live music and then live concerts I am just seeing now how all the young kids are so talented and Im very proud When he was just a twoyearold baby I saw Siddharth Nagarajan he came to Mumbai and I blessed him with my drumstick Likewise there is Kuberan he is also working hard and even Gino Banks ndash all of them are doing well In my 50 yearsrsquo service all the credit goes to my parents and my gurusYou play a variety of instruments Do you have a favourite one or have you rediscovered any one of them over the decadesYes I have bought a 2000 square feet place to keep my collection of percussion instruments in so many years My favourite is slaperoo and the calabash and I just enjoy playing thatYour energy on stage is infectious and one that people love to see What makes you to continue to perform as the years pass since it may often get tiringThis energy is not mine It belongs to the universe The audience is my energyA lot of multilingual bands are also adding the regional element in India with percussions Which upcoming artist or band would you say has a bright future in percussions in India right nowThere are a lot of upcoming percussion players From Bengaluru I like Layatarapa Udungas group then Stephen Devassy with the chenda melam It is very groovyWhat are you currently working on and what can fans expect from you this yearI am working on a feature film Koteshwar Gang and Ram Naam Every age I want to do something new so I dont know what I will play but something new will come