I always want to present classical music innovatively: Abhijit Pohankar

Written By: Harsh KashivAbhijit Pohankar has shaped his career around a niche that many classical musicians tend to sidestep — the demanding space where Hindustani tradition meets Western influences and Hindi film music.

A keyboardist with a strong foundation in classical music, he has spent years delving into what this confluence truly requires.Abhijit, son of classical vocalist Pandit Ajay Pohankar, is one of the few artistes who can play classical music on digital piano and keyboard. He was recently in Ahmedabad for a concert built around his concept of ‘Bollywood Gharana’, where he seeks to weave together the richness of classical ragas with some of Indian cinema’s most iconic melodies.

In a conversation with us, he talks about finding his unique musical voice, bringing diverse audiences onto a shared platform, and more.

He shared, “I’ve had a career spanning over 30 years, and my relationship with Ahmedabad goes back a long way. The audience here loves music. I’ve played in the city multiple times. For my new concert, I play keyboard and piano; and have composed the entire setlist.”‘I’m inspired by retro songs of SD Burman, RD Burman and Bappi Lahiri’Talking about fusion music in India, he shares, “In the early 2000s, the fusion scene for Indian classical music had just begun, especially in the vocal space. I used my father’s voice and came up with Piya Bawari.

After that, I started experimenting, which ultimately led me to the concept of jugalbandi of Hindi film music with Hindustani traditions. Old songs were based on ragas, and I am very inspired by retro songs of composers like SD Burman, RD Burman and Bappi Lahiri.”‘Always wanted to promote Hindustani genre through a novel approach’Speaking about the challenge of finding audiences for fusion, Pohankar explains, “In India, classical music listeners often do not attend Bollywood concerts.

At the same time, film music lovers sometimes find classical music inaccessible. My endeavour has been to present classical music in an engaging and entertaining manner for younger audiences, while ensuring that traditional listeners also find depth and satisfaction in our performances.

”Elaborating on his approach to working on devotional songs while also collaborating with artistes to revive the original classical Indian compositions of Amir Khusro, he adds, “I think of myself as a versatile artiste.

I like a wide range of genres, and I believe I can do justice to the genres of music I touch.”‘Wished to play with Ustad Rashid Khan, but it never happened’Abhijit, who collaborated with legends like Hariharan and Ghulam Ali early in his career, feels, “Frankly, from the real ustads I knew, only a few are left. In the last five years, many greats of Indian music have passed away. I always wanted to work with Ustad Rashid Khan sahab but woh nahi ho paya. Bahot hi kamal ke artiste thay!”He adds, “At present, there are several young and talented musicians. I really wish to work with Arijit Singh. If he sings a classical composition, he would do it really beautifully. He has that ‘classical touch’.”‘Young artistes must listen to classical music’Abhijit believes young and upcoming musicians and composers are really sharp. Speaking about what he tells his young students, he shares, “If you are attempting to create new music or do a fusion of classical and a new genre, you really need to have a lot of knowledge about it. Aspiring artistes should listen to a lot of classical music, learn it in depth even if they are not trained in it, and only then they should experiment with it.

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