Berklee Indian Ensemble Live: The Shuruaat Tour
South Asian music is easily my most cherished part of my heritage. As a first-generation Indian American, I’ve learned to love both the cultural music of India and the contemporary popular music of America. Hardly, however, do I ever see the best parts of both presented simultaneously. That’s why when my dance teacher first told me about the Berklee Indian Ensemble, I was blown away. This past March, I had the privilege of experiencing the Berklee Indian Ensemble’s performance at the Ferst Center of Arts at Georgia Tech as part of their Shuruaat tour, and I even got to meet them after the show!
The Berklee Indian Ensemble is a group of exceptionally talented students and faculty from the Berklee College of Music in Boston with the mission of intertwining Indian classical and contemporary music. They’ve worked with A.R. Rahman and Shreya Goshal–two of India’s most influential musicians–and have even earned themselves a Grammy nomination for Best Global Music Album.
My exposure to Indian music has always been predominantly through Bollywood films and dance, so watching a show characterized by more traditional Indian music was illuminating for me. While I was anticipating a sing along to covers of Arjit Singh’s most successful Bollywood hits, I embarked on a cultural odyssey instead. I was beyond impressed with how the Berklee Indian Ensemble managed to perform traditional Indian melodies with strikingly obvious inspiration from the synthesizers and sound production that make contemporary music distinct. Even further, the show was performed live–no backing tracks. I was truly taken away.
Every single musician on stage had a distinct role in the performance and were unsurprisingly incredibly skilled beyond my articulation. Harshitha Krishnan was the lead vocalist for most of the night, and her tireless runs convinced me she is the most skilled vocalist I’ve ever seen live. Rohith Jayaraman performed effortless konnakol–an impressive form of vocal percussion from South India–and Sharon Renold not only was a killer bassist and guitarist throughout the night, but also stole the show when she sang a few songs she penned herself.
Though I was raised around both Bollywood and American pop music, I was unaware of what to expect from the show. I knew the Berklee Indian Ensemble’s intense capabilities to package South Asian culture with contemporary musical innovation, but I had not the slightest clue of how they would entirely shift my perception of Indian music beyond Bollywood. The classical Indian and Western musical training of the performers dovetailed with the modern instrumentation that combined synths with energizing electric guitar solos.
Moments like these continually make music more valuable to me. That night, not only did the performance help me make precious memories with my father and friend who joined me, but it reminded me of the universal appeal of music. To me, being introduced to new approaches to music feels like Christmas morning, and the Berklee Indian Ensemble surely delivered in their gift.
