Brothers Lakshay Mohan (sitarist) and Ayush Mohan (sarod player), got their big break from sitar virtuoso and composer, Pt Ravi Shankar after he watched them perform at his centre in Chanakyapuri, for the RIMPA Fest in 2012.
So impressed was he by the deftness of their hands and understanding of classical ragas that he launched them in the United States under his foundation. The duo is now paying back the maestro with the Legacy Concert the first leg of which was held yesterday at the Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre.
“Actually, we began in March last year with a performance at Bengaluru. We had planned to take it across the world, but had to cancel it due to Covid-19. We have now taken it up again,” says Ayush, 25, the younger of the two siblings. “Pt Ravi Shankarji is our grand guru, and it is our responsibility to carry forward his wonderful ragas and compositions,” he adds.
‘Classical’ Love
Growing up in Delhi’s Punjabi Bagh, the two took to classical music from early childhood. “As soon as the school ended for the day, we would rush to play the instrumental music CDs we had in the car,” says Ayush. Listening to classical music gave them a strange sense of inner contentment, even then. Lakshay, 28, got mesmerised by the sitar on watching his father stringing it.
“He played the instrument occasionally, and on seeing my curiosity, taught me a bit about it. As my interest grew, he first put me first under the tutelage of Pt Uma Shankar Mishra, and later Pt Balwant Rai Verma, the senior- most disciple of Pt Ravi Shankar.” Ayush, meanwhile, got fascinated by the ‘look’ of the sarod. “As I grew up, I felt drawn to the instrument’s deep resonating character .” He initiatlly trained under Padma Bhushan Sharan Rani, and later joined his brother at Pt Tejendra Majumdar’s classes. “We also trained in Dhrupad style from the Gundecha brothers,” says Lakshay.
Flurry of Concerts
The two started performing in 2008, at small parties and family/friends’ gatherings while being trained in classical music. Their first public performance was a trio concert with classical vocalist LK Pandit in February 2009. “But our first major concert was in January 2010 at Aravali Centre for Art and Culture, where we performed ahead of Pt Jasrajji,” informs Ayush.
In April 2015, the two brothers became the first Indians to perform at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, where they collaborated with American cellist Barry Phillips (a student of Pt Ravi Shankarji). “The occasion was an exhibition on the life and music of Pt Ravi Shankar, and we opened the event,” shares Ayush. The same year, they became the only North Indian instrumentalists to be invited at the world’s largest South Indian Music Festival in Cleveland, USA the Thyagaraja Festival.
So far, they have performed at the Gunidas Sangeet Sammelan (Mumbai), Saptak Festival (Ahmedabad), Serendipity Arts Festival (Goa), and at world music venues, including the Symphony Space (New York), The Egg Albany, Berklee College (Boston), Central Conservatory of Music (China). Getting a standing ovation at India’s biggest classical music festival, Sawai Gandharva Festival (Pune) has been a major career highlight.
Worth a Note
The duo recently created a piece in which the base is the Indian classical raga, Kirwani. The raga has been rendered in the essence of Western classical music, drawing inspiration from cello suites and concertos without any percussion. The composition drew much appreciation from Indian and Western connoisseurs. “We love collaborating with Western classical music as it is soft and has high aesthetic value,” says Lakshay
Jugalbandi for Life
“Playing together comes naturally to us since we understand each other’s musical perspective,” says Ayush. “But the inspiration came from Pt Ravi Shankar and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan who pioneered this art of sitar-sarod jugalbandi in the early 50s,” concludes Lakshay, who for the duo will always remain their perennial mentor.