MUMBAI: Waking up in the morning to read a barrage of status’ posted as ‘Winter is coming’ on social media handles in this scorching heat, could be baffling for non-Game of Thrones fans, but the loyalists would understand the frenzy! The last season of Game of Thrones has begun today and everyone is talking about it. Some talented musicians expressed their excitement by making covers of the title track of the globally famous series.

There are multiple orchestras in the west who have made their versions of this intense tune originally composed by Ramin Djawadi.  The Indian musicians aren’t far behind. In fact, in 2017, Mahesh Raghavan a well-known Carnatic musician, made an Indian Classical version of this tune and received major appreciation. This year, too, just a week before the first episode of the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones was launched, a Dombivili based Dhol Tasha Pathak, Aaramabh did a sensational fusion to create a GoT theme. On the auspicious day of Gudi Padwa, the Pathak (Troupe) played this newly created theme in Dombivli, a suburb of Mumbai and released a video of the same on YouTube. Needless to add, the video received staggering views totaling to three million till now and is counting.

Nishant Chavan, who plays Dhol in the troupe shared, “Our Pathak, Aarambha Pratishsthan, performs on each of the auspicious days, be it Gudi Padwa or Ganpati. This year on Gudi Padwa, we decided to do something different that people will remember and thus the fusion. We did this fusion with a melody instrument - Bulbul. Next our concern was the tune or song, whose fusion we would do. We were not very keen for Marathi or Hindi songs as they are very common. That’s when we thought of doing a fusion of Bulbul and Dhol Tasha with the theme of Game of Thrones.”

The average age group of this Pathak is not over 25 and the entire count of this troupe on paper is 200. However, Nishant clarifies, “For this particular video, we had 80 of us playing. Usually before such kind of special performances, we practice for at least a month prior. However, for this gig, we practiced for the synchronization of Dhol and Bulbul not more than 15 days prior to Gudi Padwa.”

The Pathak performed this phenomenal act on Gudi Padwa in Dombivli on one of the most buzzing streets of that area, Phadke Road. “On any of the auspicious days, we see lot of youngsters on Phadke road all decked up in traditional attire and celebrating,” continues Nishant.

The extraordinary response has left the Psathak members pleasantly surprised too, “The response is unexpected. For us the timing was ideal as GoT final season’s first episode was just a few days away. We did it as a tribute to the GoT fans, especially the Indian ones. The video of this gig has gone viral and we are getting feedback across the globe.”

Sharing some feedback, Nishant said, “My friend staying in USA told about the video becoming viral there. One of the most special comments was when someone said that if GoT crew visits India, this should be played for them.”

Much to the dismay of audience, Nishant declared that the performance won’t be repeated, “The idea is to do something new each time. So, while we are happy with the response, it is unlikely for us to perform the same gig again.”

He continues and lauds the digital age for making the efforts and tribute popular, “The social media has really helped us make this video reach across.”

Although, this isn’t the first time that a Dhol Tasha Pathak has done a cover of the very popular theme, the combination of Bulbul and Dhol Tasha makes the tune sound innovative. We are sure everyone is listening it on loop!