The twist in the raga

Srishti Millicent

Indian classical has come a long way, but is the present generation doing any justice to the genre? Well, the answer is yes. Amid a generation going crazy for Bollywood dance numbers and EDM, some new-age artistes are still pursuing classical music.

Archy Jay: The Snake Charmer

If you are a YouTube lover and follow channels indulging in music, you might be aware of the girl with bagpipes. Archy Jay, known by her YouTube handle ‘The Snake Charmer’, is one of her kind artists. The Delhi-based girl covers Hollywood and Bollywood songs to anime opening themes using bagpipes. “Bagpipes are so unique and off beat. Plus the sound of this instrument is unlike any other sound out there. When I came across bagpipes, it felt like a mix puzzle, almost like me. I felt instant love and admiration towards the complexity and beauty of the bagpipes. That ignited an unending desire to want to learn and be good at it!” says Archy when asked about her love for bagpipes. It was a video of popular European folk metal band Eluveitie that motivated her to learn the instrument. Her most popular cover is ‘Dubstep’, which is inspired from classic Australian rock band AC/DC’s track called ‘Thunderstruck’ and has received more than 4.5 lakh views on YouTube.

Rishabh Seen: The Fusionist

Fusion is the way to go for Rishabh Seen, a Jalandhar-based Indian classical musician and son of well-known sitar player Pandit Manu Seen. The artiste creates a fusion of sitar and metal music and recently shared the stage with Bollywood singer Arijit Singh during a concert. When asked about his views on the Indian classical music scene in India, he says, “In the last five or six years, there has been a huge change in people’s perception of Hindustani. They are going back to tradition, culture and rituals. I haven’t attended as many shows in the last 10 years as I have in the last three years. The younger people have started to realise that there is something really special about our music and our culture. But now so many concerts are happening. My organisation too holds concerts to promote Indian classical.”

Shobhit Banwait: The Percussionist 

Toronto-based Indian artist Shobhit Banwait, who is a tabla player and a YouTube artist, became popular by covering Bollywood and international hits. Even Australian singer Sia tweeted Banwait’s cover of her song, ‘Cheap Thrills’, saying she loved it. While he feels Indian classical music has lost some interest within the new generation, he feels hope isn’t lost. Shobhit says there is a huge influence of western culture, which includes hip hop, R&B, rap, trap music, etc. “These western genres have snuck their way into Indian music. Today, even if our youth want Indian music, they want a western touch to it. These days, the musically inclined youth are driven to do something new and innovative in keeping with audience interest. I’ve fused the tabla with top 40 western tracks and it has blown up on social media. That gives you an idea about the kind of audience out there.”