Revelling in a Kashmir state of mind
The manner in which live events have upped themselves across the country following the end of the lockdown – especially in Mumbai – has resulted in restaurants and pubs turning into potential venues for live performances, completely disregarding either the respective size of the premises, its acoustics, or the existence of structures, such as walls/pillars, that prevent patrons from viewing the performing artist. While, there is, no doubt a massive commercial angle behind these decisions, it is with a welcome respite that there also exist freshly created, dedicated venues for live events in Mumbai… Jio World Centre being one of the recent ones!
While three different-sized venues have been introduced within the location, the one that appears to be the most appropriate for promoting recognised independent talent – be it in theatre, dance, or music – is The Studio Theatre, a potential 250-seater integrated by a Dolby Atmos Surround sound system, where this writer has witnessed several events – ranging from ghatam player Vikku Vinayakram’s 3G performance that cut across three generations of the family in performance to the electro-pop duo Parekh and Singh – but it was the one that occurred on May 23rd which certainly requires a special mention.
After debating whether a journey into the realms of creativity during a weekday was going to be a sound decision (pun intended), this writer took the courage to finally venture into the known, especially keeping in mind that it featured Aabha Hanjura, an immediately identifiable singer-songwriter who has built a reputation over the past decade or so for her rendition of traditional repertoire in a contemporary manner.
As it turned out, not only did The Studio have several familiar faces in the audience, but the setting/backdrop itself emanated a feeling that the event dubbed as “Songs Of Home” by ‘Aabha Hanjura Live featuring The Kashmiri Folk Ensemble’ was likely to be unique, and it was. Starting off proceedings 15 minutes after the scheduled 8pm commencement Aabha, clothed in her atypical outfit, announced a disclaimer that she would not perform the song that the audience expected her to sing because of the acoustic/unplugged nature of the performance that would eventually touch equally on personal vignettes and social commentary. Keeping the initial focus on faith and devotion through the sounds of sufi, this part of the set also introduced the seven musicians on stage, with the three western instrumentalists to her left – Rohan (guitar), Prasanth (bass), Derek (keyboards) – and four traditional musicians on the right that included Rashid (rabab), Waseem (matka and tumbaknari), and Shabbir (sarangi), all of whom were also responsible for the vocal call-and-response aspects within various songs. And, with each selection, Aabha explained the nuances behind the song performed, which effectively supported her roots in Kashmir, including her well-deserved support for the traditional and folk instruments of the region.
As Aabha showcased her fine vocal talent across compositions, renditions, and arrangements, she was pleasantly surprised to find that, on taking an
impromptu dipstick, there were a number of Kashmiris present in the audience who Aabha encouraged to sing along with her, and they did, leading to an amazing interaction, moreso in the intimate settings of the auditorium. As Aabha moved into the second phase of her set list, which focused on folk, a repertoire that had selections that were more uptempo and popular in comparison to the first, resulted in the audience perking up by a notch. However, it was the third and concluding phase of her set list, where Aabha showcased some songs for the first time that truly focused on her talent as a brilliant vocalist, songwriter, and arranger – constantly making effective eye contact with the musicians in terms of introducing their respective instrument or, as the case was, in picking up pace. As several of the tracks in this phase were ballads which, for this writer, remain the true test of a singer’s vocal range, Aabha ran through a theme river song, “Wala Haa Bagwaano”, followed by “Roshewalla”, “Ba Gyav”, “Ladisha”, and “Makaan” – these concluding songs providing an emotion that had to be viewed in person to really comprehend them as heartfelt, and honest offerings from Aabha.
With that, the one hour, 15 minute performance of ‘Aabha Hanjura Live featuring The Kashmiri Folk Ensemble’ was history but, as this writer saw it, it was merely the beginning of history as the entire set certainly needs to be taken nationwide and, sooner rather than later, also global as the performance genuinely spoke about music being a universal language in uniting people. In this matter, congratulations are surely in order to Aabha and to Jio World Centre’s Leena Divianathan in initiating this musical joint venture that went beyond comfort zones… succeeded, and how!
In retrospect, there is no denying that Aabha Hunjara is a powerhouse of a live performer and a fascinating singer who smoothly and effectively bridges the gap between traditional and contemporary music. After all, Aabha Hanjura’s performance had conjured up an event that was – all at once – memorable, mesmerising, and magical!
