This Indian violinist is changing the way you see classical music

Ahead of the premiere of his new performance Ananta, a jazz fusion showcase at a SoBo venue, he admits that “people are yet to discover the magic of the classical violin.” Growing up under the tutelage of Milind Raikar, Yadnesh saw it early on. “My parents tell me I held my first violin when I was just one year old. It’s hard to believe, sometimes,” he laughs. Going international was written in the stars, or the strings, in Raikar’s case. “My father had a Russian student who gifted him a children’s violin to be passed on to me. In a way, I think she foresaw what was coming,” Raikar reveals.

The premiere, although an ambitious foray into creating his own identity on stage, is far from his first onstage rodeo. Raikar has played for audiences only a few can impress. In 2024, he performed for the late Ustad Zakir Hussain at an event in Mumbai. “While I had performed for Ustad ji before, my memory fails me because I was too young. The 2024 performance will stay with me forever,” he says. More so, we’d reckon, when the Ustad himself sealed it with a “bahut khoob.”

Yadnesh Raikar jams with singer Jubin Nautiyal

Why jazz up a successful, cushy career in classical music, we wonder. “You should meet my father,” says Yadnesh, revealing that the Pandit Milind Raikar we know today was a free-spirited bass guitarist rocking it out on the shores of Goa once upon a time. “As things would turn out, he had to put his love for Western music on the back burner once he started training under his gurus. When the time came to train me, he gave me the freedom he never had,” he adds. The violinist recalls jamming to Shakti, American jazz saxophonist Chris Potter and John McLaughlin with his father while on international trips in the West.

With his training wheels off, the musician has teamed up with two like-minded genre-benders for the upcoming show. Pianist and keyboardist Arka Chakraborty, protege of the legendary Carlton Kitto, will join percussionist and electronic musician Shravan Samsi, a mentee of Pandit Yogesh Samsi, Ranjit Barot, and Trilok Gurtu to form the Ananta triplet. “We’re aiming to create a sonic identity that blends Indian, Western jazz, and even Arabic elements. There’s also some experimentation with electronic sounds in Samsi’s end to add a layer of newness,” Raikar reveals.

We bid the artiste adieu; he has big shoes to fill and miles to go on this new journey. “It does get overwhelming sometimes,” he agrees. Having played his first recital for an audience of 600 at a Matunga venue at the age of four, he’ll do just fine, we think. “Sometimes I wonder if things were easier back then. I’d storm onto the stage with no worry in the world. Things are different now — I am aware of the privilege and the legacy I carry, and I’m doing my best to live up to it,” he concludes.

ON October 12; 6.30 pm
AT Experimental Theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point. 
LOG ON TO in.bookmyshow.com
ENTRY Rs 1000

World of jazz

Tune into these international jazz tunes from the violinist’s playlist
>> Hiçaz Dolap by Laco Tayfa
>> Exclamation by Chris Potter
>> Raju by John McLaughlin
>> Got a Match by Chic Corea
>> Caf by Jesus Molina
>> Bahlato by Trilok Gurtu
>> Meat Eater by Mohini Dey