Exploring a new world of music

Pune has always been musically inclined, from concerts and visiting artistes to music festivals and prominent city-based performers. But while the twang of a guitar and the keys of a piano are easily associated sounds, city music aficionados may not be aware of the jaltarang’s soothing symphony or the tumba’s base beat. There’s a world of music that can be found right here in Pune with offbeat sounds and instruments.

An electric sarod seemed like the perfect way for Prashekh Borkar to fuse his classical roots with a contemporary rock band. He made the draft design and the instrument himself. He said, “The soft tone of the sarod fades with rock music so I decided to create an electric sarod which still has the feel of the classical instrument but with a more modern tone.”

With famous sarod player Pandit Shekhar Borkar as his father, Prashekh learnt the basic foundation of music and started playing on a mini sarod at the age of four. He still prefers the purity of classical melodies but the electric sarod is his style of jamming with the rock bands.

Another classical instrument that may cause a few puzzled frowns is the ‘surbahar.’ Annapurna Devi is a renowned surbahar player and Dr Hemant Desai said he is fortunate to be her disciple. “The surbahar is not that common because it is difficult to play. It’s physically a lot bigger than the sitar and heavier so you have to get used to it gradually”, he said. The surbahar can be learnt after a basic understanding of classical music and playing the sitar. It has a deeper tone and is often called the bass sitar.

Percussionists learn to play a variety of instruments and 18-year-old Suraj Baadkar is no different. He plays the conga, bongo and the tumba, all part of Latin percussion. The conga has three drums, while both the bongo and tumba have two but they are all very different from each other. Suraj, who started learning music in Saudi Arabia said, “The tumba is quite rare in India. It’s heavier and bigger than other drums and has a much lower base.”

The sound of the conga and bongo can be recognised in Bollywood remix and fusion songs influenced by Latin American and African rhythms.

Among Indian percussion instruments, the jaltarang is uncommonly heard of. Literally meaning water-waves, it consists of porcelain china bowls filled with varying amounts of water for the desired frequency and played with thin cane sticks.

Milind Tulankar has formed a website dedicated to the instrument that he learnt from his grandfather. He said, “It creates a very soothing sound and is close to nature. Though jaltarang is certainly not a beginner’s instrument as you have to understand music very well in order to produce different sounds.”

There are 14 to 24 bowls in a jaltarang set that change according to the music. To popularise the instrument, the city-based artiste has performed jugalbandis, released CDs and videos and also plays for cancer patients. He also plays the kasht tarang (wooden Indian xylophone), the tabla tarang and the morchang (tribal iron
instrument).

And while many may have heard of the saxophone, a staple sound of jazz music, it is as yet an unfamiliar sight on the city music scene. The Pune Jazz Club is attempting to change that by organising shows on the history of the jazz saxophone and introducing music lovers to its dulcet tones.

In the end, no matter whatever instrument one plays, its rhythms and melodies makes music — and music is a universal
language that binds people.