At Saaz-e-Bahar, instruments that began their journey in the West are reshaped to speak the language of Indian classical music. What’s interesting here is not just the novelty, but how adaptation, lineage, and experimentation come together to shape something new. The festival really looks at how these instruments evolve within Indian traditions while still holding on to their own identities. Indulge Express spoke to Dr. Suvarnalata Rao, Aravind Bhargav, Lalita Muthuswamy and Nandini Muthuswamy, and Debashish Bhattacharya to preview the festival.
“The Indian subcontinent abounds in a variety of musical instruments, and a considerable specialisation is displayed in instrumental usage,” says Dr. Suvarnalata Rao, Head of Indian Music, NCPA. “These instruments not only provide melodic or rhythmic accompaniment, or produce drones, many of them are also capable of presenting solo recitals.” That idea—of instruments as complete, expressive voices—is really what has shaped the festival since 2010.Now in its 13th edition, spread over two days, the festival brings together four instrumentalists, each performing on instruments adapted from the West. “These are of different categories—string-plucked (mandolin), string-bowed (violin), reed-hand pumped (harmonium), and adopted slide guitar, string-plucked (Gandharvi),” she explains. And for the audience, it’s not just about listening. “They will witness physical and stylistic modifications, including the sitting posture, and experience the flavour of Indian classical music—both North Indian and South Indian—played on these instruments of non-Indian origin.” There are also pre-event talks each day, which help you understand the instruments a little more closely before you hear them on stage.
When instruments travel, traditions transform
At the heart of the festival is a simple idea—no instrument is fixed. It evolves. Take the mandolin, for instance, which carries forward the legacy of U. Srinivas, who reimagined its place within Carnatic music.
For Aravind Bhargav, that legacy is both something to hold on to and something to build from. “Guruji Shrinivas sir’s legacy is unmatched and unparalleled. He redesigned a Western instrument to speak a language it wasn’t meant for,” he says. At the same time, his own approach is clear: “I try to do my little bit by keeping tradition as my core value and technology as my amplifier.”
For him, it’s not just about getting the notes right. “I am not just looking for a beautiful note—I want to experience the joy of our ancient music and share it.” And once that foundation is in place, the instrument opens up. “Shrinivas sir gave the Carnatic mandolin such a powerful, unique sound and identity that whenever I collaborate with artists from other genres, the space just manifests naturally. Everything else depends on the skill of the artist to explore further.” As he puts it simply, innovation is not about moving away—it’s “giving those roots a global reach.”
Speaking raga in a foreign tongue
If the mandolin shows how an instrument can be transformed, the work of Debashish Bhattacharya takes it a step further—into reinvention.
His journey goes back decades, shaped by a deep curiosity about sound. “I immersed myself in the tonal worlds of the veena, sitar, sarod, sarangi, dilruba, esraj, surbahar, and sur singar,” he recalls. “Each of these instruments carries a unique depth, warmth, and emotional resonance. That sound—so meditative, so comforting—stayed with me and shaped my musical thinking.”
Over time, that curiosity became a pursuit. “Over time, this led me to a quest—to find and develop an instrument that could embody this vast tonal legacy.” And after years of work, the outcome was not just adaptation. “I did not just modify existing instruments—I created new ones: Chaturangui, Gandharvi, Anandi, and Pushpa Veena.”
For him, everything comes back to raga. “Raga is a deeply elusive and profound art form. It has the power to evoke countless emotional states—rasa—and create a kind of beautiful illusion that connects the listener to something beyond the tangible.” His instruments, he says, are “an offering to that tradition—an attempt to serve the spirit of raga while opening new pathways for instrumental expression across the world. Inheritance is not enough
For the violin duo Lalita Muthuswamy and Nandini Muthuswamy, everything begins with lineage.
“We belong to the fourth generation of a family of musicians,” they say. “Our great-grandparents were great musicians. Our grandfather, V. Lakshmi Narayana Iyer, and our mother, Shrimati Subalakshmi Mathiswami, were our gurus. Our first uncle, Shri L. Vaidyanathan, was also our guru.”
But their training didn’t stop there. “We have been very fortunate to have had direct tutelage from luminaries in Carnatic music, including Dr. Chamagudi Srinivasayar, from whom we learned for many, many years.” Along with that comes a rich repertoire: “We have a good collection of authentic compositions handed down by our gurus… especially the compositions of Shri Muthuswami Dikshitar, which we perform to keep them alive across generations.”
And yet, they’re clear about one thing. “We have always thought that just inheritance alone is insufficient. What is our contribution?” they ask. “If there is no contribution, music would become stagnant. There has to be growth.”
The art of expanding without losing roots
That thought naturally leads to experimentation. “We have been grounded in Carnatic music, which is definitely our roots,” they say, “but we have also been trained in Western classical music and world music.” Their academic journeys in ethnomusicology and global music studies feed directly into how they think about music.
A key turning point came from a suggestion at home. “He said, why don’t you create an amalgamation of different musical systems—where everybody can hear and appreciate them?” From there, their work in fusion began. “We created specific compositions for this genre and performed with musicians from different musical styles, creating a mini global music village on stage.”
They’ve continued to push that space. “We have also worked with many Hindustani musicians in jugalbandhis,” they say. And alongside performance, there’s also research. “We are also very serious academic research scholars. That research bent touches every aspect of our music.”
From parampara to a global stage
That balance between tradition and exploration continues in their recent work. “Very recently, we collaborated with a percussion orchestra in Europe,” they share. “While performances with orchestras have happened before, this was the first time the orchestra was entirely made up of percussion instruments.” For this, they created original compositions—another first.
“We take great joy, happiness, and pride in such experimental work,” they say, “because it widens your canvas and your perspectives in music.” And in the end, it all comes together in one thought: “Whatever we have inherited, plus our own perspectives, have taken our musical trajectory on a very, very rewarding path.”
At Saaz-e-Bahar, all these journeys come together on one stage. Not as separate performances, but as part of a larger listening experience—where you can actually see and hear how instruments evolve, adapt, and eventually find their place within Indian classical music.
What: Saaz-e-Bahar
Where: Experimental Theatre, NCPA
When: April 10–11, 2026 | 6 pm onwards
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