After just one blind date over blueberry muffins and eggs, Anoushka Shankar and Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull will come together for a series of concerts — The Piper and the Princess tour — starting with Calcutta on November 27. t2 caught up with the sitarist for a quick chat about the Tull project…

You were invited to perform with Jethro Tull every time they came to India. Why hasn’t this collaboration happened before?

It was honestly just an issue of dates. When they had asked about me previously, it was for a specific time-period and I was already booked for shows elsewhere… This time, very happily, I was free to finally say yes.

Are you a Jethro Tull fan? What are the earliest memories you have of the band?

I have a close friend whose mother is a huge Tull fan. As a teenager I remember her playing their songs often and singing along. I was always struck by their musicality, unique sound and Ian’s (Anderson) unusual singing and lyrics. I love their classical influences and have always admired the way in which they could bring that kind of sound to the forefront of popular music.

In an interview, Ian Anderson talks about this blind date with you over blueberry muffins and eggs! How did it go?

Well, we didn’t cancel the tour, did we! I’m really glad we got to meet last month, else we’d literally be meeting a day before beginning this tour! We have been corresponding a lot through the course of the year, though, and I was very comfortable around him. I love his intelligence, his humour and his presence. I’m a firm believer that you need chemistry as people to be able to play music well together.

Can you elaborate on this online collaboration?

We began by talking about the logistics of our bands, our instruments and the musical styles we play. Then we discussed the possible commonalities between Celtic and Indian classical music. After that we’ve just been sending ideas back and forth. We’ve come up with some new ideas to play and will also play on some of each other’s tunes.

The Piper and the Princess tour in India and Dubai kicks off in Calcutta. How special is that?

Not special at all… In fact I wish it weren’t the case! Don’t get me wrong — that’s only because I hold Calcutta in such high regard. There’s no question that Calcutta has what’s perhaps the most knowledgeable and discerning audience in India. So, I wish we were playing there a few shows in, at which point we’d have more history of playing together. As it stands, we’ll be playing in Calcutta after just one day of rehearsal! If all goes well that may add to the spontaneity of the music….

Tell us a little bit about the song Charu Keshi Rain, which you have done with Nitin Sawhney for his new album London Undersound...

I’m very happy with that piece. We wrote it together last year after discussing what we wanted to portray about London, since his record is largely about London in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks. It’s melancholic, but ultimately hopeful...

Incidentally, I’m also featured on the recent album by Thievery Corporation. It’s a standard electronica, lounge-style track, which they are always so good at. We had worked together indirectly before… so it was nice to sit down and collaborate on something together.

Pratim D. Gupta

The Piper and the Princess concert in Calcutta is at the Science City Auditorium on November 27. Tickets are available at www.bookmyshow.com