“It’s hard not to move to a rhythmic groove,” says percussionist Sumesh Narayanan. After all, he has been exploring the art of drumming for over a decade. It was exactly 10 years ago that he joined popular playback singer Haricharan Seshadri, along with fellow artistes Ravi G, Aalaap Raju, Raghavasimhan Sankaranarayanan and Vikram Rozario at Kamaraj Arangam to present Haricharan’s ‘GrooviDa’.
Sumesh engages with the mridangam beyond classical concerts.| Photo Credit:Special Arrangement Perhaps, that’s what inspired him — many kutcheris and even a movie later — to engage with rhythm in his own distinct way. Recently, he debuted his solo act, ‘To groove is divine’, at Chennai’s Medai - the Stage.
Beyond the routine This was not the first time Sumesh has tried to look beyond the routine rhythm. Fans of his know him as the rugged percussionist from IndoSoul, he would make heads bob and hands sway with his beats that often stem from complex sollus , reflecting his 24-year-long training in mridangam. But this was the first time he took the stage alone, a departure from a kutcheri set up, exploring a host of audio-visual elements of performance while entertaining the audience with his own juxtaposition: mridangam against cajon.
Sumesh, once part of the IndoSoul band, feels it’s beautiful to express your emotions through rhythm| Photo Credit:Special Arrangement “As a mridangist, I have been trained to produce sounds with both my hands. Intrigued by the caj.
