MUMBAI: 93.5 RED FM, India's most awarded and largest private radio network, successfully concluded the first edition of The Yellow Taxi Music Project, a celebration of indigenous music of India, yesterday in Kolkata. 

Redefining live contemporary folk music scenario in Kolkata, The Yellow Taxi Music Project saw stupendous performances from Tirtha Bhattacharya, Kartik Das Baul, Fiddler’s Green, Nizami Bandhu and The Manganiyer Seduction. A musical jamboree dedicated to Kolkata’s spirit brought a host of live indigenous music - Sufi, Baul, Rajasthani tribal folk, Folk fusion and Contemporary folk, on one stage. The day-long music festival attracted a huge number of audiences from all corners of the city and provided families and friends with an opportunity to plan a perfect day out. The festival attracted numbers of visitors to witness enthralling performances and Kolkata’s culinary delights. The young guns of Kolkata flocked together, engaging in this stimulating experience of folk music which left an imprint on Kolkata’s cultural landscape.

Paying homage to the cultural heritage of Kolkata, the evening begun with Tirtha Bhattacharya’s and Kartik Das Baul’s earthy tunes which created calming atmosphere on a sultry summer day. Breathing life to folk-fusion music, Fiddler’s Green enticed the audience with their soulful worldly melodies.  As the cozy afternoon sessions turned to exhilarating acts of dusk, audiences kept on gorging on the season’s freshest flavours ranging from a diversity of traditional Desi to Continental to Asian dishes on offer at the grub arena. The crowd couldn’t get enough of their sweet and savory treats as they hopped on from one food stall to another.

By late evening the stage was set for soul-searing Sufi music, as Nizami Bandhu and The Manganiyer Seduction delivered their stellar performances. Spreading the message of liberating spirituality and love, Nizami Bandhu transported the audience to a higher realm. After a mystic aural indulgence of qawali, it was time for grandeur of royal Rajasthan and innocence of rustic voices. The Manganiyer Seduction ignited the stage with their majestic four storey illuminated bank pods. Along with spectacular visuals, the brilliance of Manganiyer’s voices evoked pathos whose sublime affect mesmerized everyone.

Commenting on the event, RED FM COO Nisha Narayanan said, “The Yellow Taxi Music Project got in the best of best folk artists together on one stage. It encapsulated the core essence of Bengali folk through baul presented with best of Rajasthani folk and sufi music. We all know how Lalon fakir’s reformative music moved Tagore and generations of luminaries after him. Presently, Bollywood composers Shantanu Moitra, Anupam Roy, Pritam are continually experimenting with music heavily influenced from baul. Not only baul, India’ indigenous music - Rajasthan  folk, Sufi have created this all-inclusive yet diverse music connect in our country. So The Yellow Taxi Music Project is our way of presenting folk music to our audience in an environment which is young, cool and contemporary. We are delighted to see such a phenomenal response from Kolkatans who shared our passion for re-inventing folk music for contemporary times, and celebrated the union of old and new through this event. For RED FM it is a unique opportunity to foster genuine connection with Kolkatans and we must say this event indeed gave us an undiluted moment of complete oneness.”

Reviving the beloved heritage of indigenous music and presenting it to the modern audience, The Yellow Taxi Music Project sought to bring alive the senses and invigorate minds of the Kolkatans. As the curtain came down on the last performance, every Kolkatan present at the venue hoped for an encore.  It was a one of a kind experience which gave people in Kolkata a much-needed reason to take time out of their busy schedules and plan their Saturday filled with wonderful experience of poignant music and scrumptious dishes. Remaining true to its spirit, The Yellow Taxi Music Project took every Kolkatan to a memorable musical ride that conjured up nostalgia of Bengal that was rooted in robust multiculturalism and quintessential cosmopolitanism.