He has Habba crowd in thrall

He has Habba crowd in thrall
Deccan Herald

Half a day of rock performances on Day 7 of Bengalooru Habba, was followed by a big auditory treat from ace percussionist Sivamani, who almost literally rocked the crowds gathered at Palace Grounds.

Half a day of rock performances on Day 7 of Bengalooru Habba, was followed by a big auditory treat from ace percussionist Sivamani, who almost literally rocked the crowds gathered at Palace Grounds.

Dressed in a bright red spotted shirt and sporting a bandanna, Sivamani, accompanied by percussionists, presented a unique blend of music, transporting the audience to sublime heights of ecstasy, on Saturday.

“Now that I am in Bangalore, it is appropriate that I pay homage to Annavru (the late Rajkumar), who was my yoga guru. Let us observe a minute’s silence,” he said in Kannada, pleasantly surprising the crowd, before he began creating magic with his ‘wands’.


The performance, similar to the face-off arranged between musicians during the times of the kings, lasted for over an hour, where a volley of two distinct sounds -- traditional vs modern percussion -- perked up the energy levels of the grounds, on the cold December night.

Crowd-puller

Ironically, the response to the Habba by itself was pretty lukewarm, and a majority of the crowd had come to hear Sivamani.

The performances on the penultimate day of the Habba, which began late in the afternoon, included those by Galeej Gurus, Thermal and a Quarter, Raghupathi Dixit and group, and Ministry of Blues. Curtains will come down on the Habba on Sunday, when B Jayasree, Malaika Arora and Kailash Kher are to entertain the crowds.