'Sorry! we won't play bhangra at concerts'

Says Gaurav Raina of the Midival Punditz. FYI gets him and fellow musician FRIEND Karsh Kale to talk about finding their place on the global music map, and their experience working on the Farhan Akhtar and Deepika Padukone-starrer Karthik Calling Karthik

Musicians are a rare breed; non-conformists in the true sense of the term. "They wake up only in the evenings, so an interview in the morning is impossible," informs the manager of Gaurav Raina of Midival Punditz and Karsh Kale.



Once the dictaphone rolls, Gaurav tells us that fellow band member Tapan Raj will not be joining us for the interview because of prior commitments.

Music composer and long-time friend Karsh Kale says he met the Punditz at a gig in London almostu00a0 a decade ago -- a brilliantu00a0 time for artistes from around the world to introduce their music to a global audience.

"It took us a year to understand each other's music, and then we launched Realize, Karsh's first album, in 2001," says Gaurav. Realize was followed by Tabla Beat Science, Asian Massive, Redesign, Hello Hello, Breathing Underwater, and now Karthik Calling Karthik (KCK).
u00a0
The Electronica band seems comfortable in the niche they have created for themselves and continue to be choosy about work that comes their way. "A few years ago, we had to drop a finished project, in part, since our tastes didn't meet that of the director. He asked us to keep the money and forget the project, which we did," Gaurav adds with a smile. An experience that probably made the band more aware of their limitations. "We know for sure that we can't create romantic songs. And, sorry, but we won't play bhangra at an Electronica show."

But isn't the popularity of Indian Classical music slowly diminishing? "Wherever we have played, we've performed to jam-packed audiences. That's the magic of Indian classical music. Youngsters today need to be open to Indian classical music because they haven't grown up listening to it. Only when it's given a refreshing twist will Gen Y take notice," explains Karsh. Though, when it comes to experimentation, both artistes agree that criticism is part of the deal. "But if you want to sustain, grow, and flourish, then innovation is key," concludes Karsh.