Thumri, for the people

Abhijit Pohankar son of legendary musician Pandit Ajay Pohankar is carving a niche for himself with his blend of traditional and World music After recently releasing a Thumri Funk album he wants to make inroads with Ghazal Funk and Bandish Funk as wellu00a0 Surekha S listens inHaving grown up with a maestro like Pandit Ajay Pohankar and witnessed musical giants like Pandit Bhimsen Joshi Ustad Ghulam Ali Pandit Jasraj and many others since a very young age music was a natural choice for 35yearold Abhijit Pohankar Abhijit Pohankar plays the Pianicau00a0 which he has used with thumris for the first time in his album Thumri Funk Thumri Funk Album coverBut though he grew up watching Classical maestros create magic and trained in Classical music the need to experiment led him to become one of the very few Indian musicians to play Classical music on the keyboardHe wasnt afraid to jazz up traditional music on a grand scale and recently released the Thumri Funk album where along with traditional instruments and the keyboard he has also used instruments like the Chinese flute and the pianica which he claims has never been used with thumri beforeI learnt Classical music from my father and also trained with Pandit Shivkumar Sharma informs Abhijit as we settle ourselves inside his small studio in Andheriu00a0But I did not learn the santoor from Panditji I learnt to play the santoor style on the keyboard The music he taught me I would play on the keyboard says Abhijit He has been performing for 13 years and most of his concerts have been with the keyboard in the centrePath breakerHis first album Piya Bawari which was released in 2002 combined traditional music with lounge music and became an instant hit with the masses In that album he had used his fathers voice There were many Bandishes a composition in Hindustani music which were used in Piya Bawari I wanted to take traditional music and make it accessible and appealing to the common man I had always loved World music so I decided to combine World music sounds with traditional music it became a huge success he saysAsk him how his father reacted when he said he wanted to create fusion music My father is a purist and initially he wasnt happy This was before Piya Bawari happened He said I dont think we should do this I replied baba your voice is so beautiful and it should be used We went ahead and recorded his voiceEveryone loved it Even the masters of Classical music complimented it says Abhijit adding with a grin My father loves it too He doesnt tell me but he tells my momPost Piya Bawari he released several albums including Sajanawa and Urban Raga and travelled across the globe for performances At one time I walked into a club in Holland and made a request whether I could play of the keyboard I played a Bandish on the keyboard and the crowd loved it I played for more than 45 minutes at that venue he recallsPrep up the thumriAbhijits latest album Thumri Funk was released after a fouryearlong gap Everyone reminded me that I had a famous Thumri singer at home and that I should work with him For decades now Pandit Ajay Pohankar has been popular for his Thumris I love Thumri as a form When I was making Thumri Funk I ensured that traditional music does not lose its essence and at the same time it gets a funky edgeu00a0It does not include Jazz elements but we have used World music instruments for the compositions It has been made funky from a sound viewpoint rather than the musicality Its a combination of purity and new age he explainsThe idea behind it is also that traditional music composed and sung by legends reaches youngsters Naina More Taras Gaye which is part of the album is Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan saabs thumri Nonlisteners of thumri arent aware of the song I bring it to them in a way that exposes them to brilliant music Its also like paying tribute to the masters he saysu00a0Traditionally thumris have been performed in a very slow way The first track Ab Ke Sawan Ghar Aaja is an old thumri that used to be sung for about 15 minutes I have tried to make it peppy with grooves and the djembe but at the same time I have ensured that the traditional elements of the vocals are not lost My driver heard it and loved itu00a0 it must appeal to wider audience he admitsApart from tabla harmoniun sarangi violin and keyboard in Thumri Funk Abhijit has also used the djembe Chinese flute drums dholak and the pianica a small organic keyboard which one has to blow into for it to emit sounds The recordings were done live in a studio with all the musicians to get the actual traditional feel he saysAfter Thumri he plans to do the same with other genres of traditional music as well I want to release Ghazal funk and Bandish funk albums as well he signs off getting back to his recordingsu00a0 Abhijits accomplishmentsgt Abhijit is one of the youngest artists to be featured in the worldrenowned French music albums of Buddha Bargt He has nearly 20 albums to his credit including Piya Bawari World Peace Melodies of the Mountain Tranquility Koyaliya and Chill out in Parisgt He has performed solo India classical keyboard concerts around the world in many prestigious venues including The Philharmonic Hall London North Sea Jazz festival South Africa Meadows auditorium Chicago and Cambridge University Americagt He has also performed at collaboration concerts with many legendary artists including Infinity with Ustad Ghulam Ali and Pandit Ajay Pohankar Moksha with Sonal Mansingh Piya Bawari with Smt Sitara Devi Spandan with Trilok Gurtu Pandit Rajan and Sajan Mishra and Urban Raga with Trilok Gurtu and Pandit Ajay Pohankar