A fusion of many soulful strains

Entertaining Evening

Moonarra, which performed at St John’s Amphitheatre recently, paid rich tributes to legends such as Pandit Ravi Shankar, Mehdi Hassan, Bhimsen Joshi, Ustad Sultan Khan, Gangubai Hangal, Whitney Houston, Barry Gibb, Rajesh Khanna etc. The star of
the show, however, was Loy Mendonsa.

The amphitheatre was packed with music lovers who made themselves comfortable wherever they found space. The show started with the rendition of Hindustani classical music by Dipannita and her team. Starting the show with a vilambhit piece in teen taal called Mera Man, she concluded it with Tu Jag Mein in dhrut teen taal and a
Meera bhajan.

This was followed by the performance of Moonarra team, led by Loy Mendonsa. Swar veena artiste Prakash Sontakke rendered his own creation, ‘The Dance of Kalyani’, accompanied by Loy Mendonsa and team. The use of various types of acoustic instruments, which were innovative, added to the performance and livened up the show.

The next one, ‘Melody Man’, a composition by the band was an interesting fusion of various concepts. Blues mixed with the Rajasthani mand, Kesariya Balma, transported one to a different level. The smart use of drums, guitar and other percussion instruments gave an edge to the composition. The evening saw a combination many performing arts on the stage. Dancers and artistes performed along with the band stressing on the fact that art is universal.

Harini, who attended the show, says that the fusion of instruments was very entertaining. “It is a great way to spend an evening by watching Loy Mendonsa. This is the first time that I am attending a fusion music show and I must say it is really interesting.

The medley that all the instruments create is very interesting. What is brilliant is the coordination among the artistes. This goes on to show the amount of practice that went into the performance,” she says.

The use of mouthorgan, combined with the classical guitar, was innovative and different. There were many youngsters who sat till the end of the show.

“The music that this band creates is irresistible. Their compositions are unique and have a lot of layers. The part where an artiste was painting along with the music and managed to finish his piece right before the show kept us attentive,” says Nishanth, who was present at the concert.