MY head rings with “Maa Tujhe Salaam” as much as I savoured Cold Play Martin’s version of Vande Mataram. I had goose bumps as I heard the national anthem ring out through the stadium on Republic Day for the Coldplay final day. It has to be the ingraining of my mid-college years in the NCC army wing, where the highlight for us was the Republic Day parade.
I remember my uniform all starched with brown shoes polished to a sparkle and my beret with my Junior U/o feather to go with my stripes after being selected as best cadet for the battalion. This meant that I was shortlisted to attend the RD parade which meant rigorous training and forgoing months of academics. I also opted out as I was deeply involved in multiple extra-curricular activities to represent the college at IISC Bengaluru, IIT Chennai, for Mood Indigo, and as secretary of several college associations from the French association to the debating society.
While the names of Bombay, Bangalore and Madras have changed since including on my degrees, I am in rapt stand-to-attention mode and sing along in movie theatres to usher in Rabindranath Tagore’s “Jana Gana Mana….” played before the movie
The lights in Ahmedabad made an aerial impression as Coldplay took over. The sky was filled with stars that got magnified as my misty vision filmed the spectacle of the sea of humanity united by music. Martin sent gratitude to the crew who tirelessly made it happen behind the scenes. They have taken home fulfilling memories of their efforts. He has won over a lot of his Indian brothers’ hearts and I am sure so has his India tour left a piece of our awesome “Indianness” with him.
Perseverance for Positive Impact
I HAVE the words significance and impact to the world at large, as playing keynote in meaningful existence. My new learning stems from two young ones, my two Rs as I call them. The world has spun 360 degrees for us. Rafael and Rhea belong to the universe of ethical enterprise that betters society. It’s not just the way they uplift the communities that they have built with great integrity, but the outreach to attain meaningful existence has kept them rooted
The First IIMW 2025
WHEN I see the brick and mortar behind the IMX — India Music Exchanges initiative — IIMW’25 conference-cum-showcase, I see the envisioned maturity of the Indian music domain unfolding. In a holistic first for the music industry, this is a win-win for all stakeholders. From creators, publishers, producers, distributors, artist liason, legal, technology and innovation, music, media, tourism, and consumers, IIMW paves the way for a path-breaking framework for the domain. The conference in Goa from the February 4-6 has panels that stir every aspect of the music space.
IIMW is committed to a pioneering spirit of encouraging and facilitating international trade to shape how the world interacts with the Indian music industry while defining the position and journey of international artists and music in India and the Indian
Subcontinent, says Sushil Chhugani, Director, India International Music Week, and Rafael Pereira, Executive Trustee, India Music Exchange.
A grid for every industry is essential to enable and allow advocacy. The takeaway here is you can soak in the music of the brilliant showcase representative of what trending and timeless global music offers. A big one for South Asia for sure. The line-up is top-notch, a curation that honours the ethos of the world, programming of the evolving present, and future of the music industry. IIMW’25 is a proud moment for India and the world. The future of the music industry rests on competent shoulders and cheers to that.
I drink in the magic of spring unfolding around me and wish each of you get your slice of music history in India. See you in Goa to witness India lead the global music Industry!!
Apro Zubin
ZUBIN Mehta in Mumbai. This is magic. I love the legend’s SOI rehearsals as I enjoy the process. He picks the selection, raps the wind instrument section for the nth bar rendition, fine tunes the tempo (which the first violinist relays instantly to the rest of the orchestra) and then fast forwards to a tricky, intricate section of the II movement of the repertoire of this weekend. While I adore Chopin and Beethoven it is Russian composer, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky who makes a concert whole for me. The crowning performance was pianist Alexander Gadjiev whose silken crisp notes cascaded and gurgled in vivace as they tickled my eardrums.
My JBT side seated 99-year young kept me filled in of how she used to visit the Taj in the early part of the last century, Mehli Mehta and apro Zubin with so much of reverence and nostalgia. If you still need to understand how age is just a number then look to the maestro. It’s proof that creative practitioners keep the grey matter ageless. Here’s to mind over matter!
25th KGAF
THE horse did have wings and the years flew. Twenty-five horses for 25 years is so befitting for the silver year of the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival (KGAF). It has evolved from its inception vision of maintaining and the upkeep of the KG area, the OG of history in architecture that needed to be uplifted and maintained. Over the years the seed has transformed and borne into a full-fledged community movement that has multiple disciplines, genres of arts, and venues all in the public domain. My sister by another mother, Brinda, puts her heart and soul into this effort. It gets crowds thronging to engage with art and culture, a waitlist for programming. That is the hunger in the belly that keeps art and our souls alive and ticking.
City of Hope
I CAN never be satiated enough with my heroes, Bapuji and the king who empowered the legacy, “I have a dream….” Tasneem’s newly opened Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum hosted a talk, “City of Hope: Gandhi, King, and the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign” by Dr Aaron Bryant, curator of Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington DC. It explored Mahatma Gandhi’s influence on civil rights in the United States, India’s impact on Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision for economic justice and human rights worldwide, as well as the history and legacy of an important moment in United States history.
There is a striking symbiotic spirit between The city of hope and dreams, Bombay, a fiesty nourishment for our souls and stomach. I was glad to get a gist of the timeline milestones pasted on cardboard boxes, symbolic of the movement, at The Art Gallery at Kala Ghoda.
The Craft of Artisan Collaboration
I HAD to keep my date with Milaaya Art Gallery in their new space albeit earlier in the day in its exclusive solitude. It is where contemporary art and exquisite embroidery meet and support the craft of incredible artisans.
Curated by Dr Arshiya Lokhandwala, I was spellbound by her huge format installation at Snowball Studio, last year. The exhibition features the works of exceptional artists whose pieces, woven with intricate embroidery, transcend boundaries. The depth and texture of these artworks have to be experienced.