Margazhi Reloaded: Thillanas and Swarams with a Twist

Modern renditions of traditional ragas has given birth to ‘Margazhi Reloaded,’featuring Rajhesh Vaidhya and others.

Modern renditions of traditional ragas, a blend of the traditional with the contemporary, has given birth to ‘Margazhi Reloaded’.

(Photo Courtesy: Youtube Screengrab)

Dusk is setting in. The roads to Music Academy and Narada Gana Sabha in Chennai are jam-packed. The air is filled with the sweet smell of jasmine flowers, elegant pattu sarees fluttering in the wind, uncles and aunties showing off about their granddaughters performing at the concert, gossip about the new talent in town, humming tunes and guessing ragas.

Since 1921, during the December and January, the Margazhi music festival showcases a range of Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam artists. This year, these artists have decided to give it a twist.

Modern renditions of traditional ragas, a blend of the traditional with the contemporary, has given birth to ‘Margazhi Reloaded’.

Started by Greenroom, an artist management agency based out of Bengaluru, the campaign retains the soul of the music festival. The campaign features eminent artists like Veena player Rajhesh Vaidhya, Carnatic singer Sharanya Srinivas, violinist Shravan Sridhar, Mridangam player Akshay Anantapadmanabhan and many others.

The first video, released on 13 December, is a contemporary take on the raga Pantuvarali. Composed by Rajesh Vaidhya, the song has Mahesh Raghvan playing tunes on an iPad, percussionist Aditya Srinivasan MT playing the tabla and also has done the recording, mixing and mastering.

Episode 2 is the remastered version of raga Charukeshi. Eleven-year-old Rahul Vellal mesmerises with his crystal-clear notes and has Mahesh Raghvan playing on the iPad, Shravan Sridhar on electric violin and Akshay Anantapadmanabhan on the mridangam. This piece has been composed and produced by Mahesh.

Dwijavanthi is a beautiful Thillana sung by Sharanya Srinivas and featuring Mahesh Raghvan, Shravan Sridhar and Akshay Anantapadmanabhan. The lyrics of this Thillana have been written by Rajani Shridhar.

Greenroom live has been composing magical fusion numbers like these. You could check the Facebook page here.