It was a wonderful sight at the Jaipur Literature Festival last year when the Anirudh Varma Collective reached the crescendo with ‘Jata Joot’, an exuberant rendering of the bandish ‘Shankar damaru baaje’ in raag Shankara and the audience responding with a deafening applause. They even danced to the beats of the tabla, ghatam, kanjira, octapad and the drums that accompanied the singers with Anirudh Varma leading them all on the keys. Passion turned into profession when young pianist Anirudh Varma thought of making the younger generation enjoy classical music the way they enjoyed pop and rock.
Born into a music-loving family, Anirudh was six when he tried his hand at his musician-grandfather’s harmonium. This was the genesis of his formal training in both Indian and Western classical music. Initiated into Hindustani music by his grandfather S.N. Varma, he was later groomed by Manas Majumdar. Anirudh trained as a pianist in Western classical music under Hosie Palamkote, Ritesh Khokhar and Lothunglo Mozhui. After his early training and exposure to diverse genres, he was keen to experience music on his own terms.
An English Literature graduate, Anirudh did his masters in Performance Studies, and later completed Grade 8 from the Associated Board of Royal Schools of Music, London. Currently, he is an associate faculty with the Global Music Institute (a partner of the Berklee College of Music), and the World College of Music. He was also with Delhi University as guest faculty from 2018-2020.
Musicians part of The Anirudh Varma Collective. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Understanding the nuances
Being exposed to both formal concerts and informal baithaks at home gave him a clear understanding of the nuances of classical music performances. He has vivid memories of a baithak by a senior Indian classical musician, which failed to draw the attention of the younger members in the audience. It made him think about the non-inclusive nature of classical music, which could be understood and appreciated by only a niche audience.
Anirudh began to explore the fields of music production and education to reach out to youngsters. He formed the Anirudh Varma Collective, which has performed raag-based compositions at prominent events such as the Jaipur Literature Festival, Mahindra Kabira Festival, Jashn-e-Rekhta, Festival of India in Kuwait and Maldives, Calcutta School of Music, Serendipity Festival, HCL Concerts and at the Nita Ambani Cultural Centre.
Exploring classical music
“When I began exploring Indian classical music, I wanted to make young listeners in India curious and excited towards this traditional art form. I have always found Indian classical compositions to have a strong recall value,” says the young artiste and composer.
The music ensemble led by Anirudh Varma on the keys. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“This project, which aims to spread love for Indian classical music, has been inspired by my mentor and grandfather. At our home in Allahabad, he would often get the entire family to sit down and sing a thumri or chota khayal. He would encourage each on of us to sing anything of our choice. I loved that inclusive atmosphere. I tried to do something similar with classical music during my college days, encouraging the members of our music society to sing a piece of classical or semi-classical music. It didn’t matter if it was a simple or complex composition — the idea was to make everyone enjoy classical music the way they would film songs.
So how does he go about preparing for shows based on raags and bandish? “We often prepare a list that includes a diverse range of raags and bandish. The idea is to showcase the variety in classical music. Over the past five years, our process has evolved gradually. Earlier, we would first record a demo of the composition, and I would then build a rough arrangement over that. With every passing year, our core team has understood each other’s thought process a lot more and we plan the repertoire for a show together.”
Some of the collective’s productions have a specific theme, for instance, it came up ‘Kahat Kabir’ early this year. Says Anirudh, “This production was our tribute to and our interpretation of Kabir. We took a conscious decision to not use the drumkit and keep the sound very raw yet grand. We incorporated instruments such as the ghatam, dholak, tabla, flute, and the sarod in the Indian section and the piano, acoustic guitar, and the bass guitar in the Western section. Our attempt is to take the richness of our music to a larger global audience through convergence of diverse genres.”
When asked if there are any concerts that stand out in his memory, Anirudh said “Every concert is special and unique, but one which stands out in my memory was our performance at the Mahindra Kabira Festival in 2021. We performed on the Ghats of the River Ganges in Varanasi, and the entire atmosphere felt surreal. Another special one was the launch concert of our second album ‘Homecoming’ in April 2022 at the Kamani Auditorium in New Delhi. This concert featured more than hundred musicians from across India.
The other music projects that Anirudh has worked on includes ‘Conference of the Birds’, a global participatory art project in response to Covid-19, and the climate crisis in collaboration with the Yuva Ekta Foundation and the British Council. He was commissioned by the Government of Jharkhand to compose and produce the background score and music for the Birsa Munda Museum in Jharkhand; for a documentary commissioned by the Government of Uttar Pradesh to be broadcast on the banks of the Ganga in Chitrakoot; and recently, to compose and produce the soundtrack for global promotional material of the Jaipur Literature Festival, curated by Teamwork Arts.
Some of his works in Indian classical music have led to academic and research exploration by scholars across the globe. Two prominent research initiatives, which have explored the contribution of the Collective are UCLA Professor Anna Morcom, using The Anirudh Varma Collective as a case study in her forthcoming book on ‘The Ecosystem of Indian Music’; and Lahiru Gimhana Komangoda, a student of the University of Visual & Performing Arts, Sri Lanka, who has used‘Anirudh Varma Collective’ as a case study, in his Masters thesis.
The Anirudh Varma Collective is currently touring the U.S. besides recording for its third album. It is also gearing up for a live India show in December to mark the collective’s fifth anniversary. “This show will have some fresh compositions and exciting collaborations,” says Anirudh.
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