BENGALURU: For many new-generation Bengalureans, conjuring a vision of the city in its simpler days is a near-impossible feat. Relentless traffic, choking pollution, and record-breaking temperatures paint a vastly different picture than the one that existed before towering skyscrapers and bustling IT hubs reshaped the landscape. But Bengaluru-based veteran musician and rock star Konarak Reddy takes much pleasure in reminiscing the old Bangalore charm. “It was much more relaxed because there was not so much stress. People had more time, so they were sweeter and kinder to everybody. It’s like when you go to a small town or a hill station,” recalls Reddy, who moved to Bengaluru in the 1970s. With his latest concert Bangalore 1974, Reddy wants to pay tribute to the city that once was. “I came to Bangalore, and I fell in love with it. 1974 was when suddenly, music became my obsession. So, I want to bring back a lot of things and stories about that time,” shares Reddy.
Bangalore 1974 is part of the solo concert series titled ‘The Guitar Book of Revelations’ celebrating 50 years of Reddy’s music. Apart from his musical compositions, the concert is influenced by the Bangalore of the 1970s where he will recount stories of the old music teachers of Bangalore and more. The idea of this series was envisioned by his wife, theatre artiste Kirtana Kumar last year when Reddy was undergoing chemotherapy. “It took my mind off the treatment, and I started composing new music,” he says, adding, “I feel we are all connected. When I play, I feel the audience is as much a part of the concert as I am. We both know where we want to go, and we somehow achieve it together.”
Known for breaking the gap between Western and Indian styles, Reddy says, “Indian and Western music can’t meet. But I’ve realised that the silence between the notes is where I can express what I truly feel. So a lot of my Western compositions have this element of me in them.”
Brought up in a multicultural family of artistes, Reddy believes that his experiences in the city, always surrounded by brilliant artistes and thinkers, have shaped his musical expressions. “I had so many experiences within me which I have to express,” he says.
(The concert Bangalore 1974 will be performed today, at 7pm, at the Bangalore International Centre, Domlur)