The Sivamani Trio: Legends of Now and Forever!

If you missed the high-energy concert by the trio of Sivamani, Sangeet Haldipur and Ravi Chary, catch a glimpse of it in this photo album.

The thumping beats of Indian percussionist Sivamani transported Amdavadi audiences into a trance on July 28. The living legend of music was in the city after almost a decade to perform at the concert Legends of Now. Sivamani’s sounds were an eclectic fusion of tunes from Japan, Latin America and Africa, while having their foundation in Indian classical music. When combined with the vibrating strings of Ravi Chary’s sitar and the electric tunes of keyboardist Sangeet Haldipur, there seemed to emerge an altogether new genre of music last Saturday from this ‘Sivamani Trio’.

The Trio is a motley group, for sure. While Sangeet Haldipur has composed music for big banner films like Murder 2 and Blood Money, sitarist Ravi Chary has formerly played alongside Indian classical musicians like Kishori Amonkar and Ustad Sultan Khanfully. Sivamani, of course, has toured with Grammy-winning musician AR Rahman on several occasions. All three, however, were entirely in resonance with one another’s beats, doling out a true evening of fusion. The trio have played together previously in Mumbai and Delhi, but this is the first time they came together for audiences in Ahmedabad.

At some point during the 90-minute performance, a troop of local percussionists got onto the stage to join Sivamani in his beats with their bongo-type instruments. These young drummers hailed from different music institutes of Ahmedabad, and their entry was met by loud cheers from the audience. Sivamani’s trademark ‘funky’ attitude was best on display when he left aside all his instruments to start drumming on a suitcase, while the troop of youngsters drummed around him.

The energy in the auditorium was so high that, even though Legends of Now was a seated concert, attendees couldn’t stop themselves from tapping their palms on their thighs in tune with Sivamani’s beats. The heritage charm of the stage design was equally enthralling, with frequent flickering lights beguiling the audience.

This photo album album, captured by in-house CY photographer Rajkumar Rao, shows some of the magic that unfurled on stage last Saturday at Gujarat Convention Centre.