East met west, and perhaps everything else in between as city-based fusion band Karma teamed up with percussion maestro Sivamani, along with guitar virtuoso Amyt Datta and Jonathan Kay on alto saxophone, for an evening of soaring melodies and groovy rhythms at the Calcutta Swimming Club on January 27 for SivaMania with t2, organised by Reynolds.

The instrumental set, called Mahaleela, was a convergence of the various styles and musical influences of some of the most towering stalwarts of the music industry.

The band comprised tabla maestro Subhen Chatterjee, Amyt Datta, Subhas Mondal on keyboard, Somnath Roy on ghatam, Abhishek Mallick on the sitartronic, Jonathan Kay on the alto saxophone, Suvam Moitra on guitar, Sambit Chatterjee on drums and Bachospati Chakraborty on the bass.

The band started with their song 7th Heaven, followed by Never Be The Same and Have You Ever Been Used, which is set to raga Jhinjhoti. After this, they made way for ace percussionist Sivamani, who bowled the crowd over with his solo set that lasted close to an hour.

He manoeuvred around his mammoth kit that had the crowd — in awe of his musical prowess — tapping to his groove. He got hold of an empty water can, and walked into the crowd while playing his solo, as those in the audience made their way forward, phone cameras in video mode, to capture memories of having witnessed the maestro in action.
The show culminated into a performance with the band, as they went on to play songs like Bonds Of Delight,

Reminiscences and Between The Shrutis, each complex and melodious in their own spaces, but with adequate room for amazing solos and improvisation by each instrumentalist, solo, as well as in unison. 

For Sambit, to be playing with his idol — Sivamani — on the same stage was a dream come true. “It was a complete honour to share not only his stage but our kits... the energy was massive. He played on mine and I played on his huge aura of a kit,” said Sambit. 

“I started teaching Sambit tabla at a very young age, but it was Sivamani’s influence that guided him towards the drum kit,” said father Subhen Chatterjee, halfway through the gig. “It was indeed a really great show, and we are grateful to the organisers and the audience for making such a concert possible,” he added. 

Organiser speak: Sivamani has been close to the Reynolds family for 20 years. The two have evolved and even travelled to global music events together. Sivamani is considered India’s most acclaimed percussionist and we wanted him to perform in Calcutta with the band Karma, and inaugurate one of India’s oldest and most acclaimed musical instrument stores —  Peter Remedios, proprietor of Reynolds. 

WHAT THEY LOVED

 “Sivamani surpasses the reputation he already has when it comes to seeing him live. The way he managed to keep the crowd engaged throughout his solo set is really amazing,” said actress Chitrangada Chakraborty.

“What blew me away was how Sivamani played his solo with almost all the instruments and stray things lying around. The way he interacted with the crowd while he played his solo on the water jar was amazing. The band too was really good,” said Akshata Sampat, a student of communicative design.

“It was a super super gig! Sivamani is probably the only musician I have seen live who can hold the audience’s attention for almost an hour by creating a soundscape of only rhythm. I am extremely honoured to have witnessed this live and I hope many more such gigs happen in the city,” said Sayar Mitra, bassist in the band Wagah Road. 

Text: Nikhil Sen
Pictures: Rashbehari Das

HOUSE OF MUSIC

Sivamani visited the second outlet of Reynolds in the city and ended up doing a special five-minute jam with (l-r) Subhen Chatterjee, Amyt Datta and Tanmoy Bose. The 1,000sq ft store at 54D Hazra Road stocks musical instruments like guitar, piano, drums and keyboard. “This outlet of ours is a one-stop solution for any musician or student of music, and has the widest range of musical instruments available in eastern India,” said Peter Remedios, proprietor of Reynolds. “Reynolds is the best when it comes to musical instruments,” said Sivamani. Picture: Arnab Mondal