There’s lots in the kitty for musical legend Shankar Mahadevan. Mahadevan who recently performed at the NH 7 in Pune and left many astounded by his repertoire and his new concept ‘My Country My Music’, collaborating with different new artists.

Shankar got super talented musician friends like Mame Khan, Chandan Shive, Rashika Chandrashekhar, Rajappa M & Anandita Paul together and curated the most magical project of the year. Shankar's endeavor to keep the real essence of India alive through ‘My Country My Music’, left the audience captivated.

In conversation with Verus Ferreira we quiz him on what inspired him to create a brand new presentation of Indian folk music, his music, and a peek on his plans for 2017.

How did this concept ‘My Country, My Music’ come about?

I had a lot of popular music in regional languages, Tamil, Telgu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi. All these languages are very, very active. Whenever I used to go to these places, I used to wonder as to how do I bring all these languages, musical genres together, different scenarios in which music is displayed in our country, in one show. There is not even a single show in the country which encapsulates all the art forms of music, folk songs, Bollywood songs, all put together. It was then that I decided to device the show called ‘My country, My music’. Then I collaborated with some masters of folk music from different states and presented them on one stage all together. The basic foundation of the show is very contemporary, modern. It can especially relate to youth on whom we are dependent on. ..so…umm there are beautiful languages, beautiful singers from Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Punjab, Assam, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu , Kerala…so the show is designed in such a way. It’s a very highly entertaining, musically, aesthetically high level show. People come to realise how much music is there in our country

What is the criteria you look for when you choose an artist to become part of this troupe?

Well, I think it should be very authentic. The artist should know about his/her culture. For example, there is this Marathi folk artist in our team who is a professor by profession. He teaches Marathi folk. That’s his forte. I want people who have depth in their particular field, that’s what I am looking and all the musicians should have the capability to improvise and they should fit into various compartments where we want to improvise. So yeah, I look for highly capable musicians.

What is the process of finding these artists and how do you source them?

I have to keep my eyes and ears open to search these talents around me. When you meet a good talented artist, you come to know that he/she would fit in. There are so many artists in the country, but when you search for real gems, they are really less.

Do you offer training to these artists to come to the level required by you?

Yea, I mean we practice a lot, rehearse and rehearse…it’s a show where lots of practice and improvisation is required.

What age group are you looking at when you choose these artists?

There is no bar. There is a artist in our group Manika Vinyagam. He is over 70 years old. He is a Tamilian singer. So basically each artist should have his/her mittiki khushboo.

How many artists have you worked with so far and how many more do you plan to take on board?

Its quite a few artists now...and..well I am still looking at more artists. The other thing is, I can’t incorporate all of them in all shows. If you have 20 artists in one show, then you won’t be able to relish even one genre. Therefore I limit to a few and explore it beautifully, so that the audience is able to enjoy music from every region.

Are new artists who perform with you given a royalty for their performance or is it an exposure for them to showcase their talent?

Of course, they are paid. I have told all artists that I don’t want to take favours from anybody. Each and every artist gets his share…starting from the sound engineer to light engineer are paid. Everybody needs money for living.

What do you plan to do with the artists after shows/concerts are over? Are they nurtured to further their music through the Shankar Mahadevan Academy or carry on the work they were already doing before you met them?

They are free to do whatever they want. They come here deliberately to be a part of this, they can choose whatever they wish to do later.

What other work are you also busy with as an independent artist and with SEL?

Along with Ehsaan and Loy, I am working on Dharma Production next project and also working on an Amazon Television Series.

Lastly, what are you plans for 2017?

For the moment a few shows with ‘My Country, My Music’ are lined up and towards mid 2017, I would be taking this concept overseas.

Text and Photos by Verus Ferreira