NOVEMBER 21, 2009 was a night to cherish – when the magical trio of Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa took charge of the makeshift stage at Sarusajai Stadium in Guwahati at 8 pm. Presently regarded as masters of rhythm, vibe and sound, the trio was also seen enjoying every moment of their gig, along with the music lovers of the region, despite the concert starting almost two hours behind schedule.

Set out on positive lines, the concert was a fund raiser for the football academy of the Guwahati Town Club (GTC), which today stands tall at the western corner of the Judge’s field. “We were initially very positive about the concert and this is for the first time that we have managed to get the trio to our State, thanks to Kalyan Barua, our dear musician brother who aligned the event for us,” informed Samarjit Neog, joint treasurer of GTC.

It was evident from the concert that each member of this trio specialises in his own unique domain and experiences with the group; amalgamating the Carnatic and Hindustani vocal tradition – that’s Shankar for you all, western rock – Ehsaan and a deep fusion including a virtual expertise over the electronic synthesizer, managing a hundred keys – Loy. The trio has come a long way – continuing a tradition quite common in Bollywood music – partnerships between music composers, contributing and utilising their individual strengths to direct superb music. This bonding was clearly seen at the gig.

Having never attended their live concerts, or for that matter heard the trio together except for film scores, my curiosity was piqued. An opportunity to satisfy my curiosity came up on that very day at the concert venue. “We never expected to see such a fantastic crowd here in Guwahati as we had always shared the idea that Guwahati was purely a rock-oriented city,” maintained Shankar soon after the concert. “We’re all very glad that all forms of good music is appreciated by the music lovers of the region, and we would love to come back to Guwahati over and over again.” The soulful Shankar further added, “If music is the way of life, we simply loved it here in Guwahati, and I also cannot forget the lovely Assamese meal, especially the fish tenga – hmmm, mouthwatering, I say.”

From fiery jugalbandis between guitar players Ehsaan and our very own Kelly (Kalyan Barua) to Hum hai Hindustani –the concert saw it all on that much extended evening. The crowd was over energetic when the trio triggered off the title track of the film Rock On!! “It was simply terrific to have Kelly with us this evening — he is a great musician,” said Ehsaan soon after the duo completed their act.

The crowd that evening was a mixed bag of young and old, and everyone came out with lovely memories. “I always wanted to see the trio live and today it was like a dream come true — it was simply amazing,” said Amarjit Sarma, a Sociology student of Gauhati University, who spent all his pocket money to be a part of the happiness.

As for the band members, it was all smiles and it was likewise reflected on the crowd. “I was also very impressed with the energy level of the crowd and every moment on stage was delightful,” said Loy, soon after the concert. “We are overwhelmed with the hospitality of the Assamese people and the city has touched our hearts,” reflected the trio in unison.

From the organisers’ point of view, this is what Debojit Saikia, general secretary of GTC had to share: “We made all possible arrangements, despite an event manager, for the smooth sailing of the event and our guests were very comfortable with the same. To top it all, the reinforcement sound gear, which was handled by Sanjay (Guitar House) and Jitu from Guwahati and Barry from Shillong, was smooth — at least, the musicians enjoyed playing,” he informed. The organisers are also grateful to their sponsors – without whose support it would not have been possible to get the trio down to Assam for a concert.

For the record, Ehsaan was doing jingles and Loy was in Delhi before the union. Loy was writing for television then. There was a show called Quiz Time and Siddharth Basu gave him his first break. Then, he did Prannoy Roy’s The World This Week. Then a few more shows came along, and he also did theatre. There was Shah Rukh Khan’s Fauji as well. Then, he came to Mumbai and started doing jingles. He hooked up with Ehsaan and they started playing music. Ehsaan also gave music for the hit TV serial Shanti. Then, Shankar came, and did a few parts on the Indian bit. Loy worked as keyboardist with music maestro, AR Rahman, and Shankar sang many famous tracks for him.

Some of their famous works include scores for movies such as Mission Kashmir, Dil Chahta Hai, Kal Ho Naa Ho, Bunty Aur Babli, Taare Zameen Par, London Dreams – to name a few. Moreover, who can forget the magic they created with Rock On!! The trio have often used Javed Akhtar to write the songs, as well as Gulzar, Sameer and Prasoon Joshi.

Sattyakee D’Com Bhuyan