The third edition began with none other than Aruna Sairam’s meditative performance with the Thrillana Project. She curated a spellbinding musical ensemble with Shalini Mohan, Arun Kumar, Sangeet Haldipur, Jyotsna Srikanth, Giridhar Udupa, and B.C. Manjunath, who delivered a soulful rendition of thillanas accompanied by modern and traditional sonic instruments like violin, ghatam, tabla, and bass guitar

Ravi Chary, a sitar virtuoso with an international repertoire, infused the string instrument’s magic into the Indo-Jazz fusion album ‘Crossing’. Along with his quartet, he struck a synergistic chord on the first day of the festival with an interweaving of jazz, funk, and rock, sending ripples of pulsating energy into the audience. He was accompanied by other percussionists like Sangeet Haldipur, Satyajit Talwalkar, Gino Banks, and Sheldon D’Silva

The final act of the day very well encapsulated the spirit of this year's edition, as Trilok Gurtu performed on stage. With the Trilok Gurtu Project, a one-man percussionist, Gurtu, collaborated with other artists like Chandanabala Gullapalli, Vaibhav Wavikar, Rahul Wadhwani, Rohit Khavale, Dhruv Ghanekar, Prashant Paradkar, and Umesh Warbhuvan

The second day saw the musical duo, SNAX, comprising Ramkumar Kanakarajan and Sumesh Narayanan, take stage with their electrifying performance. The duo brought their signature styles, incorporating Tamil kuthu beats, metal, and dubstep, while performing their debut album, Thrillex. Ramkumar’s synthesis of rock, metal, and electronic drumming, accompanied by Sumesh’s energetic mridangam, was a palatable fusion for the fans of both modern and classical schools of percussion

Bringing tropical and arid percussion traditions of Kerala and Rajasthan, BeatRoute, helmed by veteran artist Ranjit Barot and theatre director Roysten Abel, gave a fitting conclusion. From the powerful mizhavu and chenda to the dynamic dhol, nagara, and khartal, BeatRoute took us on a journey through India’s diverse soundscape