When music takes precedence over language, do the seven notes take on a new meaning? This fusion group has the answer

AS notes from the soothing folk-rock song The Sound of Silence by American duo Simon & Garfunkel fill the room, an Indian vocalist duo hums Kailash Kher's Teri Deewani, creating a segue for the two unlikely compositions to merge. A few more seconds into the medley, and oddly enough, it doesn't sound out of place. "The Sound of Silence has a philosophical connotation and Teri Deewani leans towards the spiritual. It's interesting how a song from the '60s and another from the 2000s have used similar notes," says Ronkini Gupta of The Kheyaal-e-Jazz Projekt, a group of six musicians that blends Hindustani classical forms and popular jazz, ahead of an upcoming performance.