'Jog falls' by The Dream Weavers

Firstly, let me explain the phrases used in the title. Jog falls, as some of you know is the name of the most spectacular waterfall in India. How does a waterfall sound to you? If you are the kind of person who looks at only the "water fall" part, it will only be a roar with tremendous velocity and power. If you are the kind who looks at only the part of it before it falls, it will only be a speedy, smooth flow. What you need to be is like the river rafter who negotiates the currents and then takes the spectacular plunge to the bottom, but at the end is still steering his/her boat.

A similar sense of exhilaration is present in music. It happened to me while composing music along with my band for a fusion piece for the annual cultural fest at IITD, Rendezvous. For all those still puzzled, let me say that Jog Falls is the name of the piece that we played. Inspiration? Obviously Jog Falls which roars in the monsoon. Also the fact that a Raag named Jog from the Agra Gharana was readily available to simulate the effect of the falls was an added attraction. And of course, Dream Weavers is the name of my band.

The piece was conceptualised in the following fashion:
1) An alaap on the violin followed by an alaap on the flute: this denoted the birth of the River Sharavathi in the silent/majestic jungles of the Western ghats at Ambuthirtha
2) A rhythmic beat pattern on the drums, tabla, mridangam and congo drums: denoting the buildup of the river as it struggles against rocks, crevices etc
3) A smooth musical piece involving the violin, keyboard, tabla, drums, congo and the guitar: denoting the flow of the river in its full glory
4) A rapid change of pace denoting the splitting up of the river into the four falls raja, rani, roarer and rocket
5) A brief lull to allow the impact of the waterfall as it touches the ground to be absorbed by the listener
6) A sudden resumption at top speed to pay our respect to 'The Law of Conservation of Energy' whereby potential energy is converted to kinetic energy
7) A slow ending to denote the gurgling flow of the river after it has fallen 960 feet

Credits for the piece are listed below:
Keyboard: Manish Kumar (also the band leader plus the composer)
Flute: Shival Khate
Tabla/Mridangam: Balaji M
Drums: Sameer
Lead guitar: Raghav
Base guitar: Akhil
Congo drums: Santosh
Violin: Deepak Krishnan

Future plans: Jam on a regular basis, take part in events outside...lets see after that......