The Writer’s Flight

From the grandeur of opera houses to the intimacy of jazz bars, and from festival stages to experimental collaborations, Western instruments in India are captivating new audiences in unexpected ways. Namrata Kohli  New Delhi Celebrated musician Shantanu Moitra started his musical journey with piano while still in school. Says Shantanu- “I loved the sound of a piano. I knew guitar and at the age of eleven, I started learning piano while studying at Springdale in New Delhi. It took me around 4-5 years and this is such a beautiful musical instrument.” Ask him why he loved this instrument so much and Moitra says – “To me, Piano is life which comes with black and white notes. It cannot just be the whites- only when you make a melody in white and include the black, there is impact. That’s how life is- you have to embrace the dark moments also.” Western classical music typically features a diverse range of instruments grouped into several families such as String family (violin, viola), wo...