New Delhi
Heads of G20 states and foreign dignitaries witnessed unique instrumental music performances during the G20 dinner on Saturday. The performance brought together different musical styles to showcase India’s cultural depth to foreign dignitaries. Artistes performed instrumental versions of Tagore’s “Ekla cholo re”, showcasing musical traditions. The Sunday Guardian spoke to renowned National Awardee (Sangeet Natak Academy Awardee), artiste Joydeep Mukherjee, who plays Sursingar and Mohanveena.
Excerpts:
Q: How do you feel performing inside the fantastic Bharat Mandapam?
A: It’s a special feeling to perform on the world stage, and I perform not for myself but for my own country, which is India, so it is a special and proud moment for me.
Q: Tell us about the special performance that you planned for the G20 delegates.
A: So, I had played two separate solo pieces, Sursingar and Radhika Mohan Maitra’s Mohanveena. Apart from that, I performed with the ensemble, which comprises the dual tunes, the classical tunes, the kinetic music tunes, and the regional music tunes. So, I was there for most of the performance.
Q: How do you look at the unprecedented efforts to display India’s culture to the world?
A: This was an absolutely fantastic effort. The Sangeet Natak Academy is doing a fantastic job.
They have called in 78 instrumentalists across India and across the States with different cultures and different dress codes, starting from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and Kutch to Kohima. So this is going to be the music of India, or it is known as the musical journey of India, which they have
to label.