an ent?
public art at Mumbai's Khala Goda Festival
street scenes
the busy streets of mumbai
smiles
Friends of the family: Mohammed Ali and Farida
Grant Road Station
The hustle and bustle of one of Mumbai's busiest stations
Eid
Festivities marking the end of Ramadan
In the studio!
Laying down the beats for a track that will raise money for Tsunami relief
Tabla beat science
The tabla school in the studio
Taufiq Quereshi
Zakirji's brother, and percussion maestro
Bhimsen Joshi
The legendary Hindustani vocalist, live in concert during Mumbai's prime music season
Neeraja
My friend Neeraja, herself a talented vocalist, cruising through Pune in an autorickshaw
Amjad Ali Khan
Sarod Maestro Amjad Ali Khan played a 6:30am (!) show as part of the annual St. Xavier's Festival
Music of the Trains
A common scene on Mumbai's busy trains -- a musician singing bhajans (devotional songs) for spare change
Kento-ji
A fellow student at the tabla school, Kento, from Japan, playing a beautiful solo. In early Feb, on the day of his passing, students of Ustad Alla Rakha come from around the world to celebrate his life.
The Barsi
Ustad AllaRakha, or 'Abbaji''s Barsi (death anniversary) is marked every year by a huge concert. This year's went from 6:30am to 11pm! The students from the school opened the show with some of Abbaji's senior deisciples.
Zakir!
Zakir Hussain, son of Abbaji, was in town for the occasion. He performed a solo and closed the evening with his band Shakti.
Phat beats...
The early stirrings of fusion in a Mumbai apt. My friend Rahul, one of the city's only scratch dj's...
Scratchin
Rahul, hard at work
Interplanetary fusion
A jam session, incorporating tabla, scratching, and drum and bass
Paan
Chowin down on paan, the addictive snacks made of betel nuts, and other goodies
Temple music
Pandit Sivakumar Sharma playing at the most spectacular concert setting I've experienced; Banganga Tank. A beautiful Temple town in the south of Mumbai.
Banganga
The beautiful temples of Banganga