With Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma as a father and the 100-string santoor as an instrument of choice, Rahul Sharma surely has something good going for him. Rahul thrives on challenges, loves to crossover boundaries, take un-treaded path and try the never before.

On this one hour (approx) DVD he shares the stage with musical friend’s percussion wizard Taufiq Qureshi, keyboard veteran Louis Banks and tabla maestro Shafaat Ahmed Khan for a fusion concert at the Swarutsav 2003 music festival on the India Gate lawns.

The concert opens with a punchy ‘Sing with us’ that puts the audience in celebration mode and waiting for more. The tempo slows down setting a romantic mode in ‘Love Beckons’, while the tempo increases on ‘Just Dancing’ that’s just magical what with Sharma swinging the beat into a frenzy. ‘Strums and Drums’ as the title states moves from strings to drums and display the solo side of each artist, with a special mention to Taufiq who does an inspiring drum solo using his mouth as a means of a drum machine. The honeyed tones of the santoor and the electronic sound of Banks keyboard make a perfect setting of one moving over the other. The finale sets in with ‘Drive to Frenzy’ that holds the climax of the concert where each performer reaches a crescendo of breathtaking brilliance, fusing in four instruments in a jugalbandi of artistry and sensitivity.

-- Reviewed by Verus Ferreira