Baiju Dharmajan at The Park. Picture: Rashbehari Das

Guitarist Baiju Dharmajan isn’t the most eloquent of speakers. Instead, the self-taught guitarist lets his instrument do all the talking. Before the former Motherjane (a progressive rock band from Kochi) guitarist rocked Someplace Else, The Park, on March 15, he spoke to t2…

Your solos are influenced by Carnatic music. How did you find your voice?

In 2007, Motherjane was busy recording its second album, Maktub (2008). Suraj Mani had laid down the vocals for the song Broken, and then I had played a Western guitar solo. But I wasn’t satisfied with the piece and felt something was missing. So, I thought of playing a solo based on a Carnatic raga.

Why Carnatic ragas?

It came naturally. I grew up listening to Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi film music. I am a big fan of composer Ilaiyaraaja and love the compositions of Raveendran (music composer and singer from Kerala) and Devarajan (Malayalam music composer). I started playing the Carnatic violin and then shifted to the guitar at age 14 when I heard Led Zeppelin’s Stairway To Heaven.

Tell us about your debut solo album, The Crossover (2012)…

With The Crossover, I have moved in a new direction. It’s like revisiting my roots. I have crossed over from rock to Carnatic music. I play from the heart. The album is an extension of the work I did on Maktub.

The Crossover has six instrumental pieces that evoke a range of feelings. The composition, Philia, is a lullaby for my two daughters, Ahana and Neha, and is about love and affection. On hearing the track for the first time, some of my friends called it a romantic tune. But I have learnt to deal with such misinterpretations. I have realised that at times it gets difficult to convey the message through an instrumental piece.

In the early 1990s, I was part of a band called Wrenz. There, I had played a Carnatic solo in a blues song. The other members couldn’t figure out what I was trying to do then.

Why did you decide to recreate the song Mile sur mera tumhara (the 1988 song on DD to promote unity and harmony)?

I love the melody. Last year I came up with rock versions of the national anthem, Jana Gana Mana, and the national song, Vande Mataram.

What next?

I am looking forward to recording another album, this time with the Baiju Dharmajan Syndicate, a band I formed after leaving Motherjane. I have collaborated with the duo Midival Punditz for a song, which should be there on their next album. I also have plans to do a project with a few Carnatic musicians and another with a DJ, where we would fuse electronica with Carnatic music.

DID YOU KNOW...

Baiju was born in Vypin Islands (near Cochin) and his father, Dharmajan, used to play the Hawaiian guitar.

Favourite guitarists –– Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck and Steve Vai

Favourite albums –– Led Zeppelin’s IV and Pink Floyd’s Animals

Arindam Chatterjee

Who is your favourite crossover artiste? Tell t2@abp.in