Ramesh Shotham and the Mahaphon Clang

Ramesh Shotham is a percussionist and drummer from Chennai. He began his musical career as a self-taught drummer, co-leading a rock band called Human Bondage established in 1970 in Bombay and Bangalore then hitting the road gigging in clubs all over the subcontinent. Musical influences at this stage were The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, and others. It took a live Ravi Shankar concert in Delhi, and a chance meeting with a tourist, who was heading back West and wanted to hock his albums, amongst them ‘Birds of Fire’ by the Mahavishnu Orchestra, for Shotham to begin discovering his own musical roots: the vast ocean of Indian music.

As he performed with the Mahaphon Clang at the Krtashraya Gardens, or Aurodhan Gardens, The Inquirer team had the opportunity to witness the musician at his work.

Photo courtesy: The Hindu

Research and Interview: Radhika Khanna

Camera: Radhika Khanna and Jaykishan R

Editing: Sooganya N