Mahindra Percussion Festival 2026: Tapping into the primal

“Without rhythm, melody would interval disconnected without direction. Percussion brings tempo, pulse, and groove; it is the structural backbone of music,” says VG Jairam, festival manager of the Mahindra Percussion Festival.

Talking astir the upcoming Mahindra Percussion Festival 2026, helium adds, “Percussion itself arsenic a signifier of look lies astatine the bosom of music. It has been the heartbeat of euphony from past tribal gatherings to modern time concerts. Rhythm is humanity’s astir primal and almighty signifier of expression.”

Titled, The Pulse Within, the festival, which volition beryllium held connected March 7 and 8, volition diagnostic a scope of genres, instruments and artistes who person curated peculiar pieces for this event.

Jairam says the curation process included hardcore percussion artistes arsenic good arsenic “those extending their creation signifier and musicality by putting percussion successful the bosom of their performance.” He mentions vocalist Mahesh Kale who volition beryllium presenting Yatra, “the spiritual rhythmic sounds of India and however helium is exploring an look of infinity done rhythm.”

Jairam says though definite pieces astatine the festival are hardcore rhythm, “we are adding a spot of melody to it arsenic good arsenic voices, adjacent portion focussing connected percussive elements successful a beardown way.”

One of the highlights of the festival volition beryllium a collaboration betwixt mridangist Umayalpuram K Sivaraman, tabla artiste Ishaan Ghosh and drummer Shravan Samsi, titled Nada Pravaham – Circle of Sound. 

“If you look astatine Indian classical euphony — whether it is the tabla, ghatam oregon immoderate different instrumentality that immunodeficiency successful the rhythmic rhythm oregon taal — percussion is not purely decorative, but alternatively the cardinal architecture of a piece,” says Jairam.

The festival volition spot the beingness of antithetic instruments specified arsenic the parai. “Though this creation signifier is associated with funerals successful South India today, determination is simply a batch of past down it which has mostly been forgotten. The wide nonsubjective of the festival has ever been to marque percussion much accessible and listener-friendly to the younger generation, truthful they recognize its worth and spot however profoundly rooted it is successful our culture.”

Another important conception of the festival is Women Who Drum, which volition features musicians Swarupa Ananth, Charu Hariharan, Nush Lewis, Hamta Baghi, and Shalini Mohan. Grammy nominee Bickram Ghosh will beryllium presenting Drums of the East astatine the festival.

“A batch of effort has gone into each of these curations and audiences are successful for a dainty arsenic galore of these pieces person been created specifically for this festival and person not been performed before. We anticipation to exposure the younger procreation to the rich, percussive civilization of our state and the satellite with this festival,” says Jairam.

“India has specified a assortment of percussion and bushed languages crossed each region, it astir apt changes each 100 kilometres! That is what we are perpetually exploring and uncovering ways to curate.”

The Pulse Within, by Mahindra Percussion Festival 2026 successful relation with The Hindu, volition instrumentality spot on March 7 and 8, 2026, astatine the Prestige Centre for Performing Arts, Konankunte, Bengaluru from 5pm. Schedule of events and tickets starting from ₹1000 disposable connected BookMyShow