Crooning glory

At the age of nine he befriended various musical instruments, at 17 he performed at the Jazz International festival in Thailand; now at 32, musician Vivek Rajagopalan is one of the few Indians to perform at the Bhutan Literary Festival, which begins on May 20.

At the age of nine he befriended various musical instruments, at 17 he performed at the Jazz International festival in Thailand; now at 32, musician Vivek Rajagopalan is one of the few Indians to perform at the Bhutan Literary Festival, which begins on May 20.

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“I am performing at mountain echoes and the preparations are going on well so far. I am very excited as I have heard a lot about the place and the people,” says the Mumbai-based music composer. Lyricists Gulzar and Javed Akhtar are amongst the other Indians who will be attending the fest. So, is he tensed about performing in front of the legends? “To be honest it’s not even on my mind,” he smiles.

Rajagopalan, who has given music for a Marathi film and is currently working on his album with Sony music, however feels that Indian music circuit still lacks avenues for artists who are doing Independent music. “We need clubs, venues, festivals in large numbers to create a proper scene. Live music venues are close to negligible,” says the mridangam player.