MUMBAI: Mohan Brothers Lakshay Mohan (Sitarist) and Aayush Mohan (Sarod player) brings some of their finest repertoire and the true essence of a classical duet through their concert "Saaz Samwaad”, the eternal musical dialogue. 

Sitar & Sarod are the essential instruments to be paired up for a duet.Accompanied by Pandit Ramkumar Mishra, Maestro of Tabla.

The brothers became the first Indian to perform at the Grammy Museum Los Angeles. Radioandmusic got in touch with Lakshay Mohan and Aayush Mohan to know about the concert and their performance at the Royal Festival Hall London for the 100 years celebration concert of Bharat Ratna Pandit Ravi Shankar with Anoushka Shankar and other prominent musicians. 

Check the interview below:

How special is “Saaz Samwaad” for you both?
Saaz Samvad is the concert where we are presenting our unique style of playing jugalbandi. The art of jugalbandi is all about a deep understanding of each other's musical vision for a perfect coordination.  We have been performing solo Sitar and solo sarod recitals also apart from our usual jugalbandi concerts.  After working together for so many years, we understand each other’s musical perspective and playing together comes naturally to us.
We started playing duets as early as in 2008.

What can we expect from your concert “Saaz Samwaad”?

In Saaz Samvad we want to give the listeners a glimpse of an authentic jugalbandi and it will have a lot of interactive playing of instruments. As the name suggests, it is going to be in the form of a musical dialogue between two instruments.
We are presenting some ragas which we have not played before in Delhi.

How do you feel finally getting back on the ground for concerts after a long gap?

It is definitely very exciting to perform for a live audience after a long gap. Indian classical music involves a lot of improvisation which means we create music while performing on the stage and this is best possible when you get inspired by the presence of a live audience. Though it is our most favourite venue, but due to covid we are performing at Kamani Auditorium after a gap of more than two years and we are really looking forward to it.

What has helped you get to where you are and what advice would you have for others who want to set off in a similar direction?

Taking classical music as a profession involves a long journey. You need to have patience and determination to learn the art and make your mark. A musician must be able to stay focused and work hard on his music. You cannot take it as a part time activity. It is a traditional art which must be learned under a Guru.

Apart from receiving a long period of traditional training, what has influenced our journey is a deep awareness and respect for the greatness of our country’s musical inheritance.

You recently performed at the Royal Festival Hall London for the 100 years celebration concert of Bharat Ratna Pandit Ravi Shankar with Anoushka Shankar and other prominent musicians. Tell us more about the experience.

Pandit Ravi Shankar has always been our idol and inspiration for us since we started learning music. So naturally it was a huge honour and privilege to be a part of this centenary concert at Royal Festival Hall. Rehearsals were so much fun and a learning experience at the same time. It was a memorable concert at a housefull Royal festival hall which is one of the biggest concert venues in London.