I have personality disorder: Bickram Ghosh

Grammy or no Grammy, music means much more to Bickram Ghosh than an award. And that is proved by the wide repertoire of music he dabbles with.

From classical, rock, fusion to film music — the man has his fingers in different kinds of puddings. And each genre changes him — given the way he likes to put it.

“Whether I walk into a rock gig at a club or a studio to record music, I think I become a different person; yes, I am pretty sure I have a personality disorder,” says Bickram, with a laugh.

In town this week, to make music at an arts festival at Whitefield, Bickram will be performing with three of his other band members, Arun Kumar on the drums, Ambareesh Das on vocals and Pulak Sarkar on the keyboards.

It’s going to be somewhat of a fusion performance, informs Bickram, explaining that fusion is just a term to explain music that doesn’t quite fall into a specific category. “When you say fusion — it could mean anything — from Bollywood to what my band performs! The word is like a catchphrase — it gets people excited!” he says.

In fact, the musician and composer says that fusion music is one of the best ways to introduce younger adults to classical music. “If you mention the phrase ‘Indian classical music’, youngsters get wary because they think it is one complicated concept and they would not be able to relate to it. But fusion helps to bring them in and break that myth. And once they’ve had a taste of that music, it’s like an addiction,” Bickram adds.

Talking about the influence of classical music in Bangalore, the musician says that while people identify the city with rock and new-age music, there is a lot of classical music too. “Bangalore, in fact, is one of the few cities that pay equal attention to North and South Indian classical music,” he says.

The tabla player, who’s collaborated with nearly every classical musician in the country, is also busy nursing his career as a musician in Bollywood.

“I am creating a score with Sonu Nigaam for the first time for a film called Jal, which I am quite excited about. Apart from that, I will also start work on Noshtonir, a Bengali adaptation of Satyajit Ray’s Charulata. It’s going to be one hell of a challenge for me to match the rabindrasangeet in the film; it’s my opportunity to create history,” he signs off.