24 Mar 2018  |   05:17am IST

Not just Goa’s first all women fusion band

With the coming together of a talented group of local musicians with diverse musical backgrounds, Goa got its first all-women fusion group. The group, trained by Pandit Yograj Naik, is also the first production by Ravindra Bhavan Margao and will be part of the select group of all women bands that have become a force to reckon with, in the country’s music space

It’s not every day that you get to hear an

all women group performing in Goa. And an all Goan women group is even rarer. So when such a group, a fusion group nonetheless, performed at a Women’s Day event, titled ‘Savitri Fullam’, in Margao, it was music to the ears of the packed audience.

It was fresh; it had the perfect blend of Indian classical and western instruments and the flair of an experienced band. And yet this was their first ever performance, leaving the audience spellbound.

What was even more impressive was the group’s ability to sift and work through, what could have otherwise been, issues like the age difference between members in the group, or their individual music preferences. It is to be noted that the members are professional musicians and music teachers; and each of them, have major achievements when it comes to their careers in music.

Anastazia D’Mello (drums), Velma Marlina Fernandes (keyboard), Felicia D’Souza (bass guitar), Punam D Budhalkar (sitar), Archana S Naik (sitar), Trupti S Shetye (sitar), Vandana Sawant (sitar), Vandana Sawant (sitar) Sushma U Velingkar (sitar) and Reshma Gawas (tabla) form the group called ‘Swar Ragini’.

“‘Ragini’ means an intellectual woman who loves ‘swar’ (notes of music), “says Punam, who is also the Assistant Cultural Officer at Ravindra Bhavan Margao and played a key role in helping get the group together.

“We wanted to create something of our own; our own production that can perform here and elsewhere. Secondly, we wanted to tread a different path, something that is not regularly seen, and that’s how the idea of providing a platform for such a women’s band was conceptualised,” says Prashant Naik, Chairman, Ravindra Bhavan, Margao.

The entire expenditure towards honorarium, sound, stage, lights and other organisational aspects for the band were looked after by the cultural institution.

The discussion about the band had actually come forward as part of Ravindra Bhavan’s recent brainstorming session, where they planned to also push for similar initiatives in the field of theatre. The results - the forming of an Indo-Western band and in the future, a multilingual theatre production - that can be promoted across the country.

“For the women’s band, we sought the assistance of Yograj Naik, who is a pandit in sitar and is accepted as one of the top sitar players in the world,” adds Prashant.

Yograj trained the group that performed four of his compositions in a 45-minute set, expressing great pride in the result and being able to work with such a talented group. Pointing out to the scope of an all women group, such as the (now disbanded) MTV’s Viva band, Yograj feels that the future is bright for this group due to dearth of such all women fusion groups in the country. He believes that they could be a bright star on the national stage. When asked if it was difficult to teach the group, he points out that all of them had a sound musical understanding, so it was not that difficult and that he gave instructions in both western music and Indian music to the members of ‘Swar Ragini’ respectively.

“Ultimately, it is all about improvisation and once the group started practising together, the journey was very interesting and a learning experience for all. In time, they will be able to perform longer sets and more compositions,” states Yograj, adding that the response the group received is testament to the quality of their music.

“It’s a great concept. To listen to a fusion concert by an all women group is amazing and definitely unique. But when you have Pt Yograj as the arranger, it is bound to be superb given his famous style of playing the sitar, in both classical and fusion, and his compositions, which are mind-blowing packs of ‘sur’ (tune), ‘taal’ (beat) and ‘laya’ (tempo). These three things are perfect in his compositions,” says Kunal Raikar, a member of Goa’s leading fusion band ‘The YUVA’.

‘Swar Ragini’ began practising in February and has received a great response so far. Buoyed by the same, Punam feels that what is most important, is the common love and passion for music that has united their group and is probably why their music has resonated with the audiences so much.

Commenting about the praise the group received at the event and even now, weeks after, Saish Palondikar, Vice Chariman, Ravindra Bhavan Margao, says it serves as a great confidence booster to the group and that the feeling of creating something new and watching it succeed is always electrifying. Saish was instrumental in setting up Ravindra Bhavan’ first three-day Women’s Day festival ‘Savitri Fullam’ that launched ‘Swar Ragini’.