A sea change -Article-Majari sinha,]The Hindu

The upcoming Serendipity Arts Festival (SAF) – 2018 to be held in Goa from the 15-22 December 2018 will see multiple exhibitions, performances and arts experiences. SAF unites the creative disciplines, committed to creating tangible change across the country’s cultural spectrum by engaging the public and increasing awareness of how art can impact society.

The 90 dynamic projects scheduled this year will highlight India’s rich traditions of music, dance and theatre, alongside culinary arts, craft, and visual arts exhibitions. One of the key objectives of the this year’s SAF is to be a catalyst for cross-cultural exchange, fostering a sense of unity across disciplines and art forms whilst also erasing regional divisions in the country.

Among the various curators of SAF-2018, Aneesh Pradhan has curated the music segment of the multidisciplinary festival.

Excerpts from a conversation:

How do you visualise music for this kind of multidimensional Festival?

It is both challenging and exciting to curate for an interdisciplinary arts festival like the Serendipity Arts Festival. All curators have to work within the scope of the Festival that is clearly defined. Besides, the music discipline of the festival does not focus only on one or the other musical system. Therefore, one has the leeway to experiment in different areas of music-making.

Are these musical experiments performance related, that one would watch and enjoy at the festival?

Yes, of course! I have planned three performance-based projects. One is called Songs of Nature that brings together musicians from three different traditions, the qawwals, Baul and Langa-Manganiars. It will explore the manner in which imagery from nature has influenced song-texts in these traditions through the use of metaphors and similes that highlight the emotional state and the constant human yearning to interact with the real and abstract worlds simultaneously.

The second project is called Dhamaal. This performance will comprise multifarious percussion ensembles also including groups from Karnataka, Kerala, and Bengal. The one from Bengal will have women dhaak players.

The third is called Maverick Playlist. While I have curated it, Shubha Mudgal is my consultant on this project. Essentially, this project features two vocalists backed by an instrumental ensemble of Indian and non-Indian instruments and the poetry ranges from works of the 18th Century to those from contemporary poets. Shubha and I have composed the poetry individually and jointly.

You mean to say that the projects are varied and involve diverse kinds of musical streams.

Yes, and the music lovers will notice not just that but also a unique exhibition that I have curated trying to explore the interdisciplinary scope of the festival. This exhibition will be focusing on early 78 rpm recordings made by Goan performers in the first half of the twentieth century.

And finally, I have also curated a music-based game called Bandish Antakshari that uses the popular film-song-based framework in the realm of Khayal, Thumri-Dadra and allied forms. The participants are eight vocalists from Mumbai and Pune.

Are there classical Hindustani and Carnatic music performances too?

We have Hindustani music concerts. These fall under the project called River Raag. This has been curated by Shubha Mudgal. In fact, this series was conducted by her for the past two years that she spent as curator for SAF. These concerts will be one-hour long and will take place on a barge that will set sail on the river Mandovi.

What has been your criteria to select the variety of musical genres?

Basically, the criteria was to explore the musical diversity that our country has always offered and continues to offer. Importantly, also, this diversity had to be reflected in a non-hierarchical manner, contrary to notions that one musical system must take precedence over others.

What has been your experience of curating this kind of festival which does not confine itself to a particular form and style of music?

It has been an enriching experience. The fact that I am engaging with diverse musical forms and with close to 150 musicians; has taught me a lot about the theory and practice of music, about musicianship, about discipline and more.