‘Finding home’ through Indian classical music

The show titled Finding Home was to depict that in this transience and chaos, where people are travelling or moving around constantly, what defines home.

The first song dealt with how the first home is ‘mother’ and the trio ferverently rendered Chinnanchiru kiliye by Bharathiyar to emote this. “As an adult, I found home in romance, love and companionship, which I expressed through a Jagjit Singh composition called Honton Se Chhulo,” says Sushma, who hails from Chennai and is currently settled in Singapore.

Since a person is not always with a select few individuals, cities themselves become home as he/she commutes through this journey called life. “Sights and smells spark memories and these remind you of home. For this, we played the sounds of a city that we recorded live, on loop, and added impromptu elements to it like a local beat that Chennaiites could connect to and kalpana swaram,” she adds.

“Finally, according to my perception, the realisation that I am the constant, or that I am home, tied up the concert together,” says the singer. It was conveyed through a poem by Sant Kabir, where he says ‘my home is in a place where the sun can’t reach; can I find that home, which is just silence?’

The show was organised by Silkworm Boutique whose fifth production it was. “Sushma and I met in 2010 and until this concert, I had never listened to her perform. Somehow, things fell into place and I was able to organise this concert with her,” shares Hisham Osman, who runs the boutique.

And while the audience was treated to delicious dosas and vadas after the concert, a unique aspect was that they were asked to bring their own water bottles to avoid plastic and littering. Even the cutlery served for breakfast was biodegradable and was provided by Vurn, a company that manufactures eco-friendly single use tableware.