Turning the tables

Ankur Tewari and Tanmaya Bhatnagar

What generally happens with musicians is that they compose a song, fine-tune it in the jam room, and then play it before an audience to gauge if there is a positive response or not. It's only then that they enter a studio to record the track for a wider audience, assured in the belief that if it passed the acid test of a live audience, people will enjoy it even if they are listening through their earphones. It's the same modus operandi that comedians have, where they perform at trial shows to test the waters with their jokes, before putting together a larger, cohesive stand-up routine.

But the tables will turn for Ankur Tewari and the Ghalat Family when they perform at a new IP called Jio World Drive Live, a monthly art and music event starting this week. This is the first time that the band will perform live after the third wave of the pandemic. In the meantime, they have composed a few new songs including Shehzaada shehzaadi. These have already been released, but the band has not played the tracks on stage yet. And Tewari thus finds himself in an unusual situation, telling us, "I don't know what's going to happen. This is a first for me."

Nonetheless, he adds that he's excited to play live again at the gig that also features Tanmaya Bhatnagar and Nidhi Wagle. The singer-songwriter says that he will try a few experiments in terms of the lighting and visuals. The biggest experiment, though, will be performing the new songs before people because if, for a chef, the proof of the pudding lies in the eating, for a band, it's the love that a live audience displays for their music.

On March 11, 4 pm
At Jio World Drive, BKC.
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