Jaipur-based folk fusion band Swaraag, which performed in Bengaluru over the weekend, says they were most impressed with the ‘versatile audience’ in the city. Pratap Singh, founder of the band says, “Be it Punjabi, Sufi, Gujarati, Rajasthani, Tamil, Telugu, or Marathi – people listen to all kinds of music. A lot of Indians migrate from one city to the other, and when they do, they often make an attempt to accept other cultures, learn at least the basics of the regional language.
Being in a new city also seems to influence the taste in music, so much so that they appreciate and fall in love with the music even if they don’t know the language completely,” Incidentally, from Sufi music, Rajasthani folk fusion, and instrumental to Bollywood mashups, the band’s setlist also had something for everyone. An eclectic mix of instruments from khartal, morchang, zitar, tabla, and saxophone, to acoustic guitar is another highlight. “People like our jugalbandi and the way we present acoustic instruments with Sufi, Bollywood, Punjabi, Gujarati style music,” shares Prathap.
There are people who think that these days if you want to dance, you must go to a live performance with a DJ. But we are here to break that assumption with our music
Pratap Singh
The Best part about BengaluruMasala dosa and filter coffee! It’s our favourite memory of Bengaluru. We love the taste. Whenever we travel to Bengaluru, we will make sure to get our hands on it
I got to know people who are from Delhi, but are living in Bengaluru, who enjoy Tamil, Telugu and Kannada songs despite not knowing these languages
Pratap Singh