Music maestros leave fans craving for more

CHENNAI: The Shakti tradition continued this year too , with five splendid musicians treating the city’s residents to a classic fusion concert on Saturday. Music lovers and the who’s-who of the city took their seats in a packed Music Academy auditorium for the Shakti Foundation's annual fundraiser concert, which, this time, was named after the internationally acclaimed musicians in the band — 'Remember Shakti'. Tabla master Zakir Hussain, mandolin player U Shrinivas, kanjira exponent V Selvaganesh and British guitarist John McLaughlin - all dressed in white - were in their elements and played with effortless ease. Blending their instruments quite seamlessly, it was clear that one didn't have to know the tunes to tap their feet to the infectious percussion beats. Racing forward from one speedy crescendo to the next, it seemed the adrenaline on stage was only too readily passed on to members of the audience. For once, there were few words spoken, and despite the big names on stage, fewer introductions. Shortly after, Zakir Hussain called Shankar Mahadevan to join the band on stage, referring to him as simply, 'The Voice'. For a while, the pace slowed to soothing vocals and calming melodies. Only to step up and surge head on into an intense, albeit 'breathtaking' marathon of euphoric rhythm. The high point of the show was a surprise shout out to an even more surprised ghatam maestro Vikku Vinayakram in the audience. Zakir Hussain reminisced, "I don't know if Vikkuji will remember this one." He added for effect, "It was done in Vikkuji's teenage years." The 70-year-old grammy award winner said humbly, "Enna panrathunu theriyala (I don’t know what to do). Ithu enakku oru test mathiri. Pasavenannu pakkalam." (This is a test for me. Let’s see if I pass it.) Undoubtedly, he did. By the end of the performance, the applause was thunderous. Clearly, the evening required no words or language for people to understand the music. And as always, The Shakti Foundation, an NGO paving the way in support of children, physically challenged and the rural poor, made a significant contribution to those who needed it the most.