classical rockers

In this loud era of pop we can still hear few sargams from somewhere across the road. Hindustani music is turning ‘Kool ’ with the new faces associated with it. Gone are the days when classical artists had stern and serious cold looks on their faces.

Have you ever heard of an instrument named zitar, compilation of Sitar and Guitar? How will sweet child of mine sound on the sitar? Niladri Kumar is a must hear then. He is a twist in the tale for Indian classical music revamping the term classical. He created a travelling sitar which makes sitar sound like a guitar. Unlike guitar, zitar has only 5 strings and has an added electric pickup. He is a disciple of Ravi Shankar. Priority was his first album.

From student to child Ravi Shankar’s daughter, Anoushka Shankar is the next in the league. Her journey from Delhi to London, packed with her sitar, she became Grammy award nominee in 2003. The list of activities she does is vast; a few to add would be lifestyle writer, PETA activist. The most defying moment in her life was when she shared the stage with her father and half sister Norah Jones. Anoushka breaks the jargon of classical artists being so non fashionable and hep.

Giving words to music is ghazal singer Jasvinder Singh. He was awarded ‘The young Ghazal Maestro’. Remember the gazal ‘tumko dekha do he khyayal aaya ’? These are his roots. With over 300 concerts all over the world, Jasvinder is spreading Indian ghazals all over the world after Jagjit Singh.

Representatives of the seventh generation of the ‘Senia Bangash’ school of music, Amaan and Ayaan Ali Khan bridged the gap between pure classical and western fusion. Last seen in phir mile sur mera tumhara with their father Amjad Ali Khan. Along with music they have co-authored a book ‘50 Maestros 50 Recordings’, which is a compilation of the best of Indian classical music.

The new generation of singers is getting a lot of attention due to the refined quality of work they are doing. Young faces like Avadhoot Gupte, Salil Kulkarni, Ameya Date, Swapnil Bandodkar are responsible for it. This new path was started by Shankar Mahadevan with his classic style of singing. His latest Marathi song man udhan vary ache has won hearts across the globe.

These new artists are very strong in the work they do. They can multi task, are smart, and certainly refined. With the efforts they are putting, Indian classical artists are becoming a rage among the youth today. It won’t be long now before we see them being cults for the generations to come.