Making the guitar sing

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Guitarist Baiju Dharmarajan is excited. His performance on the Dewarists show on Star World was telecast on Sunday. This show, sponsored by Dewars scotch whisky company, based in Scotland, is a collaboration of musicians of different genres. So Baiju played with noted US-based percussionist and composer Karshkale, and Harigovind, a master of the Edakka drum at Angadipuram, Malappuram district. “Karshkale plays electronic music, Harigovind hits the drums in the traditional style, while I strum rock music,” says Baiju. The song is called ‘Sacred Science’.Not many people may have heard of Baiju, but in the music world, he has a stellar reputation. On December 1, when the rock band, ‘Evergreen’, staged a performance at the Children’s Park, opposite the Gold Souk, Kochi, highlighting the dangers of the Mullaperiyar Dam, it was the forty-something Baiju who stole the show.Dressed casually in a blue T-shirt and jeans, he let rip chords that made the guitar weep, sing, laugh, and cry out aloud. Sometimes, his face contorted with the effort. Sometimes, his body trembled. And, always, the tendons on his arms stood out, as his fingers ran up and down the frets. There was a pin-drop silence among the motley crowd of youngsters, middle-aged parents, children, and idle bystanders. In the end, the ‘Evergreen’ kids got a master class in guitar-playing.  Baiju, of course, made his name as the lead guitarist of ‘Motherjane’, one of the top bands in Kerala. Their original album, ‘Maktub’, became a hit and established the band’s nation-wide reputation. “We travelled all over India, doing shows in IIT and engineering colleges,” says Baiju. And the band raked in the moolah. In two-and-a-half years, the five-member team earned Rs 42 lakh.But all good things have to come to an end. Differences about the creative direction of the band forced Baiju to opt out of ‘Motherjane’ in November, 2010. “I wanted to move on to the next level,” he says.Baiju has now set up a new band, with a drummer called Sojan, vocalist, Richard Wilson, and bass guitarist Vivian Varghese. In the past one year, Baiju has composed 12 songs. “I am in the recording stage,” he says. “Then there will be practice sessions, followed by live shows.” Along with this, Baiju is also helping new and upcoming bands like ‘Kaav’ to produce an album. “Baiju is our guru,” says band member Shyam N. Pai.Baiju is the son of Dharmajan, a government servant, who played the Hawaiian guitar as a hobby. He learnt the guitar when he was 13, but his initial musical influences were all Indian. “Thanks to my father, I grew up listening to the ghazals of Mehdi Hasan. Anup Jalota, and Shamsad Begum,” says Baiju. “I also listened to Tamil and Malayalam film music, but my all-time favourite is Yesudas.”And it would be the legendary singer, while giving an interview to the BBC, who would provide a tip that Baiju took to heart. “Music is like a lamp,” Yesudas said. “If you clean the lamp every day and put oil in it, it will glow. But if for a couple of days you do not do anything, immediately, dust will gather and the lamp will lose its glow. That is the same with music. Constant practice is the key to excellence.”And it is this incessant practice that has made Baiju Dharmarajan one of the top guitarists in India now.