Anoushka winds up Project India tour with Delhi concert

East met West as sitar virtuoso Anoushka Shankar and her ensemble of musicians performed foot-tapping experimental compositions at the concluding concert of the troupe here.

New Delhi, March 09: East met West as sitar virtuoso Anoushka Shankar and her ensemble of Indian and Western musicians performed foot-tapping experimental compositions at the concluding concert of the troupe here.Watched by her legendary father Pandit Ravi Shankar, who was in the packed audience, Anoushka, clad in a black sleeveless kurti, explored the common links of Indian musical traditions and Western elements such as flamenco and jazz at the fifth and final concert of the Anoushka Shankar Project India 2009.

Whether it was "Charu Keshi Rain," which Anoushka co-wrote with London-based Nitin Sawhney or the Flamenco Suraya piece, the audience were left spellbound. She also played ragas and compositions created by her father. She concluded her concert with the trademark piece based on Jog raga. "Though we have been playing this piece for over three years, I am yet to name it," she said of the piece. The earlier concerts were held at Kolkata, Mumbai (twice) and Bangalore. The Project began in 2006 in response to the need for Anoushka to present and perform her experimental creations. After her fourth solo album "Rise", Anoushka went on a world tour for a year with a large ensemble comprising of Indian and Western, acoustic and electronic instruments, to better reflect the multicultural nature of that groundbreaking album. The members of the Anoushka Shankar Project are Tanmoy Bose (tabla), Ravichandra Kulur (flute), Leo Dombecki (piano), Jesse Charnow (drums), Barry Phillips (cello), Sanjeev Shankar (shehnai) and Anju Joshi (tanpora). Bureau Report