Live collaborations at festivals are no recent development. But what unfolded at Pune’s Ishanya Mall on Saturday will definitely go down as one of the more unique onstage collaborations ever seen. Baajaa Gaajaa — the music confluence whose third edition took place from February 4 to 6 — was meant to feature fusion band

Soundz of India as the final act on its Aangan-Open Stage. However, for one reason or another, the band couldn’t make it. Circle of Rhythm (comprising percussionists Ben Walsh, Greg Shehen and Bobby Singh) had played only a few hours earlier and made the most of the opportunity by taking to the stage for an impromptu jam accompanied by drummers and percussionists from other acts that performed at Aangan.
“And then before you know it, percussionists from bands that played on other stages came running over to Aangan with their instruments in tow and participated a massive percussion jam session,” recalls one half of the Baajaa Gaajaa organising team Shubha Mudgal. The husband-wife team, completed by percussionist Aneesh Pradhan has just overseen the successful completion of the music convention designed to showcase all facets of Indian music and is already looking back fondly on what was by all accounts, a largely successful event.
“There was a larger turnout this year than at the two previous Baajaa Gaajaas,” says Shubha and adds with a smile, “The day performances, the seminars, film screenings and workshops were packed all weekend long. There has been more awareness about the event this time around.” A cursory glance at the patrons swarming the mall is enough to confirm her statement and what becomes most obvious is the fact that the international crowd has grown by leaps and bounds. “A number of people from other countries actually said that they had heard about Baajaa Gaajaa and accordingly planned their trip to India and then, Pune,” she says with an ever-so-slight tinge of pride.
In terms of the acts on show, apart from Circle of Rhythm (Ben astonishingly played with a four-piece drum array that he reportedly built onsite using industrial storage drums and other bits and bobs found near the venue) and its three performances, a number of people stole the show. Stories in a Song: A Musical Collage of Theatre, Literature and History — a theatrical depiction directed by Sunil Shanbag, Chordial Relations — featuring Niladri Kumar (sitar), Juan Diego (flamenco guitar) and Israel “Katumba” Mera (percussion), a performance by Hariharan and myriad lectures and seminars by various musical exponents and scholars (including a lecture on the textures of Japanese music) by Hiros Nakagawa, a student of Indian music theory at Banaras Hindu College were just some of the highlights of the symposium.
“We had a group from Delhi Public School, Varanasi who had come to perform and they brought with them a whole entourage of staff members and students. And then there were people like Nalin Mulji and Nayan Panchal, who helped bring in groups from Kerala and Gujarat respectively, whom we otherwise may not have been able to get,” states Shubha. And yet amid all the hectic scuttling from one film screening to a seminar or live show and then back for another seminar, the vibe at Baajaa Gaajaa 2011 was as relaxed and charmingly laidback as ever.
A major difference from previous editions – that featured Indian Ocean and Motherjane, among others – was the extremely sparse presence of the rock community, aside from Delhi band Half Step Down. “Rock is definitely an essential element of the spectrum of music. But, there were a number of reasons for the lack of rock bands this year,” says the iconic singer and adds, “Pune played host to the NH7 Weekender only a few weeks ago, where a number of rock bands had performed. Secondly, rock bands usually have a number of members, each of whom has a lot of equipment. Bringing all of them across with their equipment would have gone far over the budget, which we exceeded in any case.” Additionally, the word on the grapevine is that a number of sponsors pulled out at the last minute.
A pall of gloom had been cast over the music community a couple of weeks ago as a result of the passing of Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and he was offered a fitting shraddhanjali over the course of the three days. This included a beautiful collage of a rare selection of photographs of the man in concert taken by photographer Parthiv Shah. “We also had a moment of silence for Panditji before the inauguration (by distinguished theatre and film personality Girish Karnad) and a number of artistes paid tribute in their own way,” Shubha says.
Looking to the future and areas for enhancement, she hopes to finally bring some groups from Kashmir and Nagaland down to Pune after three years of trying in vain. “The musicians are ready to come. It is only the local government’s cultural departments that are slowing down the whole process,” she rages with grace and poise, adding, “We’re not asking for funding from them. All we want is for them to provide government sponsorship to these groups and send them over. However, despite writing to them months in advance, there has been no response from them.”
And while plans are in the pipeline to turn Baajaa Gaajaa into at least a six-month long entity with an online presence featuring new tracks, collaborations and other online content from performers, at present, a lot of work remains to be done. “It’s very difficult for just two musicians (herself and Mr Pradhan) to organise and plan everything and since there are like-minded people out there, we’d like them to come out and be a part of it,” Shubha says and adds, “Ultimately, the aim is to send more and more people away with the knowledge that Indian music is a lot more than just one genre. And after experiencing a tiny bit of it here and meeting a variety of people in the field, we hope they are inspired to and learn more about Indian music.”