Weaving magic with their music

The country’s first interactive music museum, ‘The Centre for Indian Music Experience’, was unveiled with an inaugural jugalbandi concert by Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and Chitraveena Ravikiran at the MLR Convention Centre in the City recently.

The jugalbandi was the first concert organised by the Centre for Indian Music Experience and the audience could not have asked for a better show.

As the two well-known artistes performed, the crowd soaked in the melodies that filled the air.

The concert attempted to bring two classical music forms — Hindustani and Carnatic together. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt said, “This jugalbandi tries to merge both the forms as we feel somewhere the swaras of both the musical forms meet at some point.”

He had the audience laughing when he jokingly said, “We are trying to do a sort of national integration on this stage.”

They began their performances with raga kalyani in Carnatic style and raga yaman in Hindustani style. The second composition Vaishnava Janatho received a loud round of applause.

Those in the audience seemed to love the concert. Sharada, a regular to all
Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and Chitraveena Ravikiran’s concerts, said it is always a delight to be a part of their show. She said, “I never miss their shows in Bangalore.

We have been listening to them for more than a decade now and I try to watch the videos of their international concerts too. They only get better with every show.”

The Centre for Indian Music Experience is unique as it is a first-of-its-kind experiential museum of music.

Explaining the concept further, Divya, one of the organisers, said that it will definitely be a treat for music lovers. She elaborated, “Thematic galleries, instruments galleries, interactive installations, sound park and learning centre will be the main attractions of the museum. Apart from this, there will also be a seminar hall and library.”

Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and Chitraveena Ravikiran were accompanied by Thiruvarur Bakthavathsalam on the mridangam and Ramkumar Mishra on the tabla.