Above is a preview of a popular song composed during one of the episodes of The Dewarists. More on the TV Series below:
By Nandini Ray:
A mix of music and travel that is what the show ‘The Dewarists’ seems to be all about. Not that the combination sounds any less interesting but the most charming aspect remains with the people who make the enchanting music and travel far and wide, outside the closed walls of a studio with it. This show was launched on 16th October and makes a special feature of Star World India, apparently the show not being a part of any music channel but Star World. The way of capturing the musicians, the lyricists, the village or city and the other people truly mesmerizes the viewer’s eyes and ears and thus part success of the show goes to its producers, camera persons and the editors. It has been recorded that after the first trailer of the show, there were six thousand views of it on the Youtube within a few hours. Considered a ‘music-travel show’, the basic difference which makes the show more intellectually attractive than the ones on MTV like Coke Studio and Unplugged, is the creation of music while travelling to other places and making music by merging musicians from very different genres. In many ways, the show is perhaps in the form of a documentary as apart from the music, it also talks about the lives of the musicians, their career and their passions. The show is hosted by Monica Dogra who is herself a musician and an actress and has been a part of electro rock genre of music.
In its first episode, the show featured the Indian music composer duo Vishal-Shekhar along with the British Grammy award winning singer songwriter Imogen Heap. It was shot at Samode Palace on the outskirts of Jaipur. It basically showcased their passion for music and creating it for a purpose of self rejuvenation and also giving peace to the listener’s soul. The first episode’s theme was ‘Minds without Fear’, as was taken by Rabindranath Tagore’s famous poem ‘Where the Mind Is without Fear’, and the performance was on the same. From the first episode as seen, the music seemed to be the most essential part of the show with the travel part limited to the location and the village people around. But the astounding fact of the show remains with the soulful renditions created and performed by the artistes and the deliberate manipulation of the minds towards achieving the compassion within oneself as suggested by the essence of the show. In its other episodes, the show has rolled in the best of the best artistes from within India and abroad like Imogen Heap, Zeb and Haniya from Pakistan, Indian Ocean, Parikrama, Mohit Chauhan and many others, and also travelled most vividly to the amazing locations of Mumbai, Delhi, Mysore, Pune and others.
This show allows the musician to create a kind of music which has the essence of not only their own music style but blend it with that of the location, to its roots. The title of the show ‘The Dewarists’ doesn’t have a mention in the dictionary but soon seems to be added as its meaning has been defined by its producers who recognize the word as the following, “Musicians who have immense passion for what they do”, who “inspire others to follow their dreams”. The venture has been jointly conceived by the production house Babble Fish Productions, artiste and event management firm Only Much Louder and the Scottish whisky brand and also one of its producers ‘Dewars’. Well, now it just seems like the show’s title comes directly from the name of its sponsor and also not much of thinking was involved while selecting the title. But anyways, the show has been successful enough to make it one of the most watched shows too soon, not only because of the music, place and people but equal credit goes to the picturization and the narration. Audience of all ages perhaps mostly the young students as well as professionals and homemakers; it is becoming a hot favorite among them as some refer to it as cool while others refreshing.
The show in its entirety truly has brought a change in the perception of music and its evolution, as the Indian music scenario mostly remains dominated by the colorful Bollywood music, leaving little space for innovation and has certainly succeeded in its discovery of showcasing music and talent with a difference.