KOCHI: When it was written in 1922, Siddhartha was hardly taken note of. But as years passed, the Hermane Hesse classic deftly presented in an old world milieu, proved to be a page-turner.
The captivating spiritual theme of the book is what Ashram, an Indo-Austrian band, wanted to explore in their latest album Siddhartha. “It is our tribute to 100 years of the book,” says Boris Seidl, the band’s lead guitarist.
The album, parts of which were presented to the Kerala audience recently at Manaveeyam Veedhi, will be officially released in September.
But why Siddhartha? “It is many a seeker’s story,” says Boris, who came to India in 2004 to explore the link he and his brother Manuel felt was missing as members of a young band ‘Fur Balloon’ in 2000. “We were seeking. It had reflections of the musical milieu we grew up in.”
For the war-weary West of the ’60s and ’70s, the Hesse classic resonated with its quest to seek alternative perspectives to life. With the book, Hesse joined philosophers like Romain Rolland to open India to the West as a true seeker’s final stop.
Musicians were the first among the many to take to that road. The Beatles’ India jaunt is as legendary as it is esoteric. Mick Jagger’s interest in India led to the distinct Kali connection in the legendary Rolling Stones’ iconic tongue logo. Led Zepplin’s hypnotic hits Kashmir and No Quarter are glimpses of its Indian fervour.
The friendships sitar maestro Ravi Shankar forged with frontline western bands further made the contemplative hum of Indian music familiar. The Seidl brothers grew up knowing music in this context. “Ashram’s formation has to do with Boris’s travels in 2004 to Kerala where he jammed with Ajaya Gopi who played takil and other folk instruments. The sessions opened our minds to the layers music could explore,” says Manuel. The sessions led to the formation of the cross-continental band that Ashram is, with four European members and three from India, Kerala to be precise.
Twenty years hence, the band still has a seven-member line-up, with Boris and Manuel as staples on the European side and occasional changes on the Indian one, though Hari Krishnamoorthy on the tabla and Anu Praveen on vocals remain longtimers. The latest addition to the team is Shaheer Shahabudeen, a techie otherwise.
Though the album Siddhartha defines it, Ashram has two earlier albums to its credit, Ashram and Prison without Walls. “We used several art in them: south Indian folk songs with chants and artwork that goes parallelly with blues and rock,” says Manuel.
As against this, Siddhartha goes subtle. Both Eastern and Western music intermingle slowly to create scenes where the young Brahmin leaves in thirst for the truth, through the river, dabbles with being the awakened one and finally seeks an awakening that is his very own. Chants, and tunes of sarangi and Indian instruments, were woven intricately with European beats to produce the musical version of the literary classic.
“The idea came up in 2012 when I was studying Hinduism. Latha Thampi, an academician, introduced me to several texts. I reread Siddhartha and felt the need for a tribute to the book for being such a force for generations. We wanted to make it in 2022, but Covid delayed it,” says Boris.
To put Siddhartha together, the band members worked online for the most part. “It is tough to always work physically together due to travel hiccups. But our music-making sessions are fun,” says Anu.
More than albums or tours, Ashram’s music has sweet notes of friendship, says Hari Krishnamoorthy. “I met them in Thiruvananthapuram. What I played, they liked, and thus kicked off years of our togetherness. We played in Austria in 2007, then on tours in and out of the country. The collective remains strong.”
Ashram expects to go on tours with Siddhartha soon. Team members say it will be more of journeys to seek their music’s soul than for gigs.