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Duur phir Dhoom
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It was unity the musical way at Saarang 2004
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Pic by N. Sridharan
IT WAS just a piece of cloth. However, it reflected the aspirations of millions in the Indian subcontinent. Splicing the Indian tricolour with the Pakistani crescent, the banner proclaimed "No Boundaries". A clutch of students were carrying it around the Open Air Theatre (OTA) in IIT on Monday evening, when the Unity Concert, which brought the Pakistani Indipop band Strings and the Indian band Euphoria together, was in progress. This historic concert, which brought Saarang 2004 (presented by IIT Madras in association with e-Serve) to a close, packed them in at the OTA. The crowd was as responsive to the music as peacocks to rain. Overwhelmed by the frenzied movement in the gallery, the MC announced that those in a mood to shake a leg could do so in "what has been demarcated as the ball area".
Before Strings came on stage, Pandit Janardan Mitta played sitar to the accompaniment of a CD in which patriotic Hindi songs and Western numbers (like `The Final Countdown' and `Doe, a deer') were strung together. Strings belted out songs from its popular album Duur and from another (Dhaani), which is expected to be released in India soon.
The band is on a nearly two-month tour of India, and Chennai was their first stop. They will be performing in Hyderabad on January 31 and would go to Mumbai and Delhi thereafter. They will be playing it by ear as their itinerary has not been clearly defined.
"Immediately after our album "Duur" was released, which was two years ago, we did a lot of concerts in India, particularly Chandigarh," said lead guitarist Bilal, in an after-show press conference.
Over the last two years, the band has been flooded with invitations to perform in India, but "plans to do so fizzled out for some reason or the other". The band members - Faizal (lead vocalist), Bilal, Adeel (bass guitarist) and Ali (keyboardist) - were all praise for Kirthi, the IIT student who was instrumental in bringing Strings to Saarang 2004.
"He was dashing off numerous emails and making a lot of calls in this connection," said Faizal.
The lead vocalist said that India had always been responsive and that their band had felt welcome. They had been striking creative sparks off musicians here. In point of fact, "we are doing a song for Pooja Batra's next film," said Bilal.
In the meantime, Euphoria had stirred up a storm with its music, which was as powerful as cannon shots. Palash Sen and his men presented a mixed fare of originals and covers. He mixed Western numbers like "It's My Life" and "Brick In The Wall" with popular Hindi songs. There were also mushy songs like "Ab na Ja" which is about "not being able to express your love to the one you love". Lending a classical touch to the concert was Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's "Afrin Afrin".
During the concert, Palash mentioned that he was a doctor. When queried about it later, he said music and medicine were in his blood. "I am a fourth generation musician-doctor. Both are healing professions, and for this reason I enjoy them." He named his band Euphoria because "it is a medical term". On finding the time for his twin passions, Palash said he had no social life and could do justice to both.
The songs in Euphoria's three albums - Dhoom, Phir Dhoom and Euphoria Gully - represent a wide range of human emotions. Do they come from more than one source? "No. I pen the lyrics. They are actually very simple. They are based on the little dreams and worries of the Indian middle class. I could write them because I come from the middle class myself."
There seems to be a lull on the acting front after "Filhaal"? "I have not closed the doors on acting. If I get a film that's as sensitive and sensible as Filhaal, I will definitely say `yes'."
With their individual performances over, Strings and Euphoria shared the stage to sing the timeless "Dama dum mast kalander". That was the defining moment of the concert.
PRINCE FREDERICK
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