INTERVIEW | A Festival Built On Rhythm, A Band Built On Curiosity

There is a comforting predictability to most concerts. You buy a ticket because you know roughly what you're going to get. The band walks on stage, plays the hits, disappears for a brief interval before returning for an encore everyone knew was coming, and everybody goes home happy. Thaikkudam Bridge has never been particularly interested in that sort of certainty... partly because they couldn't be, even if they tried.

A band with multiple vocalists, guitarists, violin, keyboards, bass, drums and enough musical influences to fill an encyclopaedia doesn't really have the luxury of sounding the same every night. Their music happily wanders through Carnatic ragas, progressive rock, folk traditions and world music before arriving somewhere that belongs entirely to them.

It makes them an especially fitting addition to Sangamam Thaala Utsav 2026, the two-day Bengaluru festival celebrating India's rhythmic traditions and living cultural heritage. Alongside Indian classical and folk music artists such as Siddhartha Belmannu, Charulatha Mani and Anoor with Laya Lavanya, Thaikkudam Bridge will bring their distinctly modern interpretation of Indian musical traditions to the Prestige Centre for Performing Arts.

Also read: Thaikkudam Bridge To Charulatha Mani Will Celebrate India's Many Rhythms At Sangamam Thaala Utsav 2026

Curiously, though, the band isn't changing anything because it's a cultural festival. “We approach every concert with the same mindset,” bassist Vian Fernandes tells ETV Bharat over the phone. “It's always good to have new audiences, new listeners and new fans discovering Thaikkudam Bridge.”

Whether the audience has followed them for a decade or has wandered into the festival out of curiosity makes little difference. “The old listeners come back for the experience,” he says. “The new listeners deserve the same energy and the same show!” It is a wonderfully democratic philosophy. Nobody receives the abbreviated version.

The Audience Has Changed

Festivals like Sangamam naturally attract listeners who already have some connection with Indian classical music and traditional art forms. One might imagine such audiences listen differently from the crowds packed into rock festivals. Vian isn't entirely convinced.

“If people come from a musical background,” he says, “it probably becomes a little more challenging because they know more about music.” Then he pauses. “But listeners today are much more embracing.”

He believes listeners have outgrown the old habit of dividing music into clear-cut categories. Someone who enjoys Carnatic classical is just as likely to enjoy progressive rock. A rock fan may discover a raga without even realising it. “They've crossed those boundaries,” he says. Perhaps streaming services deserve some credit. Perhaps younger listeners simply refuse to inherit old prejudices. Either way, Thaikkudam Bridge finds itself playing to audiences that seem increasingly curious rather than protective. “If someone comes from a cultural background and hears rock mixed with Carnatic elements, that's a treat,” Vian says. “And if they don't come from that background, it's still a treat!”

Seven Voices, One Song

Watching Thaikkudam Bridge perform can feel miraculous, not only because of their technical virtuosity but also because the musicians avoid competing with one another. With seven vocalists alone, the obvious question is: who gets to sing what? The answer arrives long before rehearsals begin. “The songs are created with the vocalist in mind,” Vian explains. Every singer possesses a distinct voice, texture and personality. Instead of asking everyone to adapt to a song, the band often lets the song grow around the person who will sing it.

“If we're writing for Krishna or Madhav,” he says, “the song naturally becomes heavier because of their style and their Hindustani influences.” The same principle applies to instrumental solos. A violin doesn't appear simply because there's a violinist in the band. Neither does a guitar solo exist merely because rock bands are expected to have one. Everything serves the mood first. “If both fit,” Vian says, “then both happen.” It's a modest approach for such an ambitious ensemble.

The Song That Refuses To Stand Still

Every long-running band has one song that evolves almost independently of its creators. For Thaikkudam Bridge, that song is Fish Rock. “We have to play it,” Vian laughs. The version audiences hear today bears only a passing resemblance to the original recording. “So many elements have been added over the years.” And they're still adding more.

Improvisation remains central to the band's live identity. Sometimes it arrives as a different instrumental passage. Sometimes a vocalist suddenly takes a melody somewhere unexpected. Sometimes the city itself changes the performance. When Thaikkudam Bridge visits Mumbai, for example, Marathi songs often find their way into the set. In other cities, different languages appear.

Occasionally, fragments of familiar film songs emerge before disappearing again. Although original material now dominates their concerts, the flexibility remains. With performances coming up in Malaysia and Singapore (where Malayali and Tamil audiences gather in large numbers), the setlist will once again adapt to its surroundings. It's less like carrying a finished painting from city to city and more like adding new brushstrokes every evening.

Rhythm Matters

Given that Sangamam Thaala Utsav places rhythm at its heart, it feels appropriate to ask what rhythm means to a band equally comfortable inside rock and Indian classical traditions. For Vian, rhythm is colour. “It's one of the main elements that gives colour to a song.” He points to Navarasam, one of the band's defining compositions. Its extended rhythmic finale doesn't simply conclude the song but transforms it. “The rhythm makes every person feel the pulse.” Melody tells you where a song is going. Rhythm persuades your body to come along.

Perhaps the greatest danger for any successful live band is familiarity. Play the same songs often enough and they risk becoming routines. Thaikkudam Bridge seems determined not to let that happen. Within the band, several members delight in keeping everyone else alert. “Mithun, Govind and Anish experiment the most,” Vian says. Anish TN might suddenly introduce an unexpected rhythmic pattern. Govind reshapes a solo. Krishna refuses to sing a familiar vocal phrase the same way twice. “When that happens,” Vian laughs, “our first reaction is, 'Where did that come from?'”

It sounds less like rehearsed perfection than organised adventure. At Sangamam Thaala Utsav, that spirit should feel perfectly at home.

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