Hitting the right notes, again

Mohan Veena exponent Poly Varghese on his musical journey post pandemic

A musical instrument that requires years of practice to cajole out a decent enough tune might be considered an anachronism in the era of instant gratification and fame. But for Poly Varghese, one of a handful of players of the Mohan Veena, complete mastery over it has been a life purpose.

Beginning his musical journey through mridangam at the Kerala Kalamandalam, Mr. Varghese was inspired to take up the Mohan Veena, which combines Hawaiian guitar, sarod, sitar, sarangi and santoor, after watching a performance of Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, who created the instrument.

However, the days since the COVID-19 outbreak have been hard for Mr. Varghese. He was all set to relocate to the United States after receiving an offer to teach at a university there and collaborate with a few bands. But the pandemic put an end to the plans. Following a heart attack, the 51-year-old musician had to again cut down on his practice. His recent performance in Thiruvananthapuram was his first physical concert since the pandemic.

"After the U.S. plan was cancelled, I shifted base from Chennai to a secluded house near the forests in Wayanad. For close to one-and-a-half years, I practised, made new compositions and performed in online concerts. But, when I sat down for my first physical concert, there was some fear, because after the angioplasty, I felt like a new person. The state of mind of the listeners too have changed now with the concern about the virus in the back of their minds. However, I managed to play for an extended period and it went well," says Varghese.

During the pandemic perid, he collaborated with salsa musicians from Cuba, musicians from the Amazon forests and a group of Iranian and Moroccan musicians for a Moroccan radio station project. He is also working on his next album as well as a collaboration with tribal musicians of Wayanad.

For Mr. Varghese, the only model before him has always been his guru, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, with whom he is regularly in touch. His first public performance came after more than 14 years of rigorous practice, with five of them at Bhatt's home in Rajasthan, in a gurukula setting.

"My guru comes from a North Indian musical culture. He can teach me the anatomy or the structure of a composition, but whatever I play after that, it is my own music, which is influenced by my own cultural understandings, political viewpoints and so on.. So, what I produce will be a spontaneous amalgamation of all these," says Mr. Varghese.