A National Award–winning hindustani classical vocalist known for carrying tradition into contemporary spaces, Mahesh Kale has spent years reimagining how Indian classical music can travel without losing its soul. Based in San Francisco, his work bridges raga and global listening, drawing audiences far beyond the classical circuit.
That journey now leads to Mumbai, where Mahesh will present Mahesh Kale Live with the Budapest Scoring Orchestra at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre — a first-of-its-kind collaboration that places Hindustani classical music within a Western symphonic scale.
In conversation with, ahead of the Mumbai concert, Mahesh reflects on this artistic leap, the risks of collaboration, and why familiarity often becomes the first step towards musical discovery.
This Mumbai concert brings Indian classical music into a Western symphonic framework. What were the biggest artistic challenges in translating raga-based improvisation into an orchestral structure?
This Mumbai concert actually brings Western classical music into an Indian framework, which is what I try to understand it as. It began with the idea of creating a symphonic arrangement for Indian classical music.
The biggest challenge is that Indian classical music is free-spirited and free-form; spontaneity and improvisation lie at its core. Western classical music, on the other hand, is a fixed form and relies heavily on score sheets, exploring music within a defined framework. For me, not reading music but still being part of a framework that is being read by a symphony orchestra—and at the same time finding the liberty to be spontaneous—was the most challenging aspect of creating this format.
Since this is something that has not been attempted before, we had to carefully examine how to define a template or framework that allows a Western symphony orchestra to adapt to Indian classical music through notation, while still affording the freedom to be expressive within that adopted structure.
Collaborations like this are often seen as a way to expand audiences. Do you genuinely see symphonic formats helping younger listeners connect with Indian classical music, or is that expectation overstated?
It’s very simple. Everyone in the world has their own favourite or go-to music. If you are able to pique their interest through something familiar, the chance of discovery increases. Will the symphonic format help younger listeners connect? It certainly helps not only youngsters, but also people who are yet to be introduced to Indian classical music—especially those for whom it may not be part of their natural selection process.
To put it another way, if you prefer a certain kind of cuisine and I prepare a dish that closely aligns with that taste or sensibility, the chances are that you will at least explore it. Without exploration, it is difficult for Indian classical music to grow.
With a repertoire spanning pure classical, natya sangeet, abhangs, and original compositions, how did you decide what adapts naturally to a symphonic language and what must remain untouched?
We have to step back and understand that whether it is pure classical, natya sangeet, abhangs, or my original compositions—it is all music. At its core, music has the power to connect us with one another. Even with the most difficult relationships, if we invest time, we find a way to make them meaningful and beautiful.
When deciding on the repertoire for the concert, I was insistent on offering audiences a glimpse of Indian classical music and its many sub-genres. There is something beautiful about a natya sangeet composed 70 or 80 years ago—originally intended to further an epic narrative rooted in tradition—finding new resonance in a larger, more universal sonic landscape.
That possibility excites me. It is why experimentation matters. It is why collaborations need to continue—so we can push the envelope of where the music can go. With that intention, through a mix of insistence and collective brainstorming, we arrived at the repertoire we eventually presented in the concert.
What: Mahesh Kale Live
When: February 22, 7. 30 pm onwards
Where: The Grand Theatre, Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre
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