These two city-based musicians create Carnatic and Hindustani music through the chords of a guitar
Bindhumalini and Vedanth
Here in Bengaluru, we are enthu cutlets for everything from an eclectic electronica set to a classical concert. In fact, we’re the breed that will love it if both were experimentally added to the mix. That is exactly what ensues when Bindhumalini and Vedanth’s soul-stirring Carnatic and Hindustani music rides on the Western chords of the guitar. As they wrap up another resonant set in the city, we catch up with the duo that makes the confluence of sound, cathartic.
“Confluence would be an apt word to describe our music, since it’s in fact a confluence of genres, styles, traditions, languages, and spiritual essences through our hearts and soul,” explains 33-year-old Bindhumalini Narayanaswamy. She might be a gold medalist in MSc and a graphic designer from National Institute of Design but effortlessly takes after her musical heritage, thanks to her grandmother, the late Kalaimani Seetha Doraiswamy, one of the few rare artistes who played the Jalatharangam and her Carnatic musician mother, Visalakshi. For Vedanth Bharadwaj, coming from a typical ‘Tam Brahm’ household, music and the arts were a part of growing up. “I was almost forced into music and never really liked going to the classes,” confesses the 34-year-old as he sets his guitar aside after his set at the blueFROG in the city. “Music really blossomed when I joined Rishi Valley School where I learnt to play the guitar from my classmate and dear friend Ananth Menon and was exposed to genres of music other than Carnatic and Film music,” says the musician armed with an MBA, who later went on to do his Grades in Western Classical Music from the Trinity College of Music, London.
Drawing influences from a range of artistes – everyone from Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton and Pink Floyd to RD Burman, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and MS Subbulakshmi, this duo allows their classical nuances to flow smoothly into folk and other genres. “This has been thanks to our Kabir yatras,” says Bindhu, who collaborated with Vedanth on a collection of Kabir poems to release her debut album, Suno Bhai. Since then, they have been traveling across the country performing the mystic saint’s songs like the on demand Maya, Bhajo re Bhaiya and compositions like Naach Re and Haman Hein Ishq Mastana – both Kabir’s poems set to tune by them. Vedanth’s debut album, Mati Kahe too was a compilation of songs written by Bhakti saints like Namdev, Surdas, Tulasidas, Mirabai and Guru Nanak. “I always wondered how these songs would sound accompanied by the guitar and then it finally took shape,” he says about the album that’s sold over 7,000 CDs so far – purely through word of mouth!
Aside of their music that seems to fit like a hand in glove, Bindhu and Vedanth also share a deep interest in food and in their words, a ridiculous sense of humour. “We have also been scoring music for a Tamil film,” reveals Bindhu who is married to Vasu Dixit, the dynamic lead vocalist of the folk rock fusion band, Swarathma. “We actually met in NID, Ahmedabad. We are both great fans of each other’s music. When I did fall for him, his free and open style of singing was one of the things that really hit me. But it was more a beautiful and comfortable friendship that paved way for the love than anything else; music was just a part of it,” she smiles, as her guitarist partner chirps, “Yenna oru kaadhal kathai (What a love story)!”
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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