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Bank on beats

t2 meets the catalyst of Agnee’s new, folksy sound.

Agnee: Sing when you’re winning

On May 17, 2005, K. Mohan, a high-flying executive with Deutsche Bank, handed in his resignation. For someone who had switched jobs four times in seven years, this was no surprise move. But this time, Mohan was not getting behind another table in another office.

“There was a joke among colleagues that I carry the guitar to work. But I am a Tamilian; I love numbers. So I also like my laptop,” shrugs the 32-year-old Calcutta boy. It was sheer chance that music crossed Mohan’s path before he could float his CV again.

“Right after I quit, my friend Koko (Kaustubh Dhavale) and I thought of a band while jamming. Arijit (Datta) joined a while later. One thing led to another,” the XIM, Bhubaneswar graduate smiles. Another accident gave the Indirock band its name Agnee. “I was making the rounds of music companies when Sony BMG liked our demo and wanted to sign a contract. That meant we needed a name, and fast. Koko’s former band ‘Agni’ — a hard rock act — was already registered. It had disintegrated after the bass player died. We changed the spelling and became Agnee.”

The trio are now revelling in the success of their debut album that released in May. What the vocalist-percussionist brings to Agnee is his Carnatic background, hailing as he does from a family of musicians. “My mother is a violinist, my sister sings and plays the violin; my father’s organisation Rasikhapriya organises the city’s biggest Carnatic music festival and a talent promotion series,” he rattles off. In fact, Mohan was in Calcutta to perform at his father’s show.

But the man — who won the Palghat Mani Iyer Award for mridangam and was crowned Mridangam Player of the Year for three consecutive years at the Chennai Music Festival — is very clear not to mix his two personae. “When people come to hear Agnee, they want Sadho re, just as at classical music festivals it is ragas that they expect. Of course, when I improvise I bring out everything in me. But you’ll never find me playing a mridangam like a drum.”

The band composed two songs for Prakash Jha’s film Dil Dosti Etc. “One was a thumri and I sang on the other track .”

Now settled in Mumbai, Mohan has a clear idea of what to play where. “In Mumbai, you
can play to the galleries and get away with it.
But both Bangalore and Calcutta crowds have grown up with good music. In a concert at
these two cities, there would be people who can play as well as you do. If you screw up, they’ll let you know.”

Yet, he loves to play here. Which is why he is looking forward to talks materialising for Agnee taking the stage in Calcutta this December.

Sudeshna Banerjee
What’s your favourite Agnee track?
Tell t2@abpmail.com