“I haven’t fallen in love with Indian classical music as yet”

Israel’s first female hang drum artiste recently performed in Mumbai,Mandu and Bhopal to celebrate 30 years of Israel and India’s diplomatic relations

Music is a universal language — this is something percussionist and singer Liron Meyuhas firmly believes in. Israel’s first female hang drum artiste, she recently performed in Mumbai as well as Mandu and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. The event was meant to celebrate 30 years of Israel and India’s diplomatic relations.

Liron Meyuhas playing the frame drum (Photos: Shadab Raza/HT Photo)

A hang drum is an instrument created 22 years ago, by Felix Rohner and Sabina Schärer from Switzerland. Meyuhas came across it on the streets of Jerusalem 17 years ago.

Liron Meyuhas is Israel’s first female hang drum artiste (Photo: Shadab Raza/HT Photo)

How does one learn a relatively new instrument like the hang drum? You just figure it out. Or at least that is what Meyuhas did. She combined her knowledge of percussions and instructions from the creators to create her own style.

Meyuhas, whose name translates to ‘my joy and my song’, says Mumbai’s audience was very youthful, while those in MP were more relaxed. “Even though language was a barrier, they understood the energy of the sounds. I felt like I touched two different [types of] audiences in India,” she shares.

While she listens to music by late sitarist-composer Pandit Ravi Shankar and tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain, Meyuhas hasn’t “fallen in love with traditional Indian music yet”. “But when it does happen, it will be big,” she adds. She would also like to play with sitarist Anushka Shankar. Besides, she’d love to mix her style with those of Bollywood musicians to create something unique.

Meyuhas plays several instruments, including the West African drums, frame drum, piano, guitar, etc. Asked if the Indian tabla features anywhere on her list of instruments to learn, she says, “If I want to study the tabla, I will need to stay and learn under a master, for at least a month. I don’t hav