Classical Confluence – A Hindustani and Carnatic Jugalbandhi

Translated as “entwined twins”, jugalbandhis are a long-standing tradition in both Hindustani and Carnatic, featuring a duet of two solo musicians.

Originating from the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent in the 12th century, Hindustani music places more emphasis on improvisation and exploring all aspects of a raga (combination of notes in a melodic form). Conversely, Carnatic music is commonly associated with Southern Indian, with its foundation of composition and improvisation based on four elements: sruthi (the relative musical pitch), swara (the musical sound of a single note), raga and tala (rhythmic cycles).

In this exciting performance, these two genres meet in a unique confluence of melodies and rhythms, featuring two world-renowned maestros: Pandit Jayateerth Mevundi and Abhishek Raghuram.

Jayateerth Mevundi is one of the Kirana Gharana’s leading vocalists. Born in Hubli, his initial training began at home, informally singing bhajans and other devotional music. He recounts that “there was no musician as such in my family, although they would listen to songs on the radio, identify the ragas and appreciate music in general.” At 14, he ventured out to find a guru. He received instruction from Pandit Arjunsa Nakod for over a decade, and later trained with Shripati Padigar, a disciple of Pandit Bhimsen Joshi. Many hear a resemblance between his voice and Joshi’s, with strong incorporation of ideas from Carnatic music and a rich abhang repertoire. He continues to take an eclectic, spiritual approach to classical music—“compositions are soaked in the Bhakti rasa [devotion] and are dedicated to the supreme lord. I am a very spiritual person.”

Abhishek Raghuram hails from a family of legendary musicians, the late mridangam legend, Palghat Raghu and the violin legend Lalgudi Jayaraman. Abhishek initially trained under his grandfather and then moved on to learn from Padma Bhushan Vidwan Sri. P. S. Narayanaswamy. In 1999, he gave his first international concert tour in the U.S. with his grandfather. Today, Abhishek is one of most heard Carnatic vocalists in India and abroad. He has performed at several prestigious music festivals: the Darbar Festival at Southbank Centre, Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay (Singapore), and Idea Jalsa. In 2014, Abhishek was presented by Ustad Zakir Hussain in the Barsi festival dedicated to his father Ustad Alla Rakha. Apart from his grandfather he has performed with several eminent musicians like Dr.T.K.Murthy, Umayalpuram Sivaraman, Karaikudi Mani, Trichy Sankaran, G. Harishankar, Ganesh Kumaresh, Bombay Jayashree, Jayateerth Mevundi, Sanjeev Abhyankar and the likes, all at a very young age. Possessing a combination of virtuosity, aesthetics and intellect, Abhishek has created a new genre in the field of music that, according to critics is “food for the intellect, mind, heart and soul”. He could very well be on his way to creating a new gharana, something that will have a big impact in the Indian music world. He has won several awards including Sangeet Natak Akademi’s Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar and Yogam Nagaswami Award for Best Senior Vocalist – The Music Academy, Madras during the December Season 2013-14.

They will be accompanied by the co-artists Arjun Kumar (mridangam), Pandurang Pawar (tabla), Karthik Nagraj (violin) and Milind Kulakarni (harmonium).

SIFAS is proud to bring this production to Singapore in collaboration with Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, as part of Raga series.