When a temple turned recording studio

SHUBHA MUDGAL introduces the musicians of Baajaa Gaajaa 2012.Meet Avadhoot Gandhi, the 5th generation priest of a temple in Alandi, near Pune. Here is a visual journey of a special recording project that Shubha Mudgal & Avadhoot collaborated on.

Shri Nrsingh Saraswati Swami Mandir, in Alandi which is roughly 20 km from Pune.An unlikely and beautiful venue of a unique recording project. 

Avadhoot Gandhi, the singing priest, who inherits the sewa or the service of the temple from the male members of his family. For five generations, they have been appointed priests at this beautiful temple, built in 1886.The singer and his song melded naturally in the temples premises where Avadhoot  and his accompanying group of musicians were recording. The musicians were recording for their debut album ‘The Varkaris: Ecstasy Through Music’  in the very premises which taught them their music.The culture of independent recording - ‘This, unfortunately, is a predicament Gandhi shares with a lot of Indian musicians today—that of being almost totally ostracised or grossly neglected by a mainstream music industry that no longer caters to diverse tastes in music. With the mainstream music industry concentrating its attention only on a few genres like film music and a populist brand of devotional music, exponents of other, supposedly niche genres have had to fend for themselves. And this is where self-publishing and online distribution have played a major role in empowering artistes to be independent and not look towards established record labels as their mai-baap for recording solutions.’ – From Shubha Mudgal’s piece in the magazine Open(October 2011)Audio engineer Nitin Joshi, who is also an accomplished photographer, captured the ambience of the temple and significant moments from the project in these stunning photographs, which document the project. The project is an initiative of Underscore Records Pvt Ltd supported by the Ford Foundation. 

‘The ancient town of Alandi on the banks of the river Indrayani. A major centre for pilgrimage and religious activity, Alandi is known for its association with the 13th century saint poet Dnyanadeva, also known as Dnyanesh. It continues to attract pious pilgrims, many from the Warkari sampradaya, a Vaishnavite sect with a tradition of ecstatic singing of devotional verses written by the great saint poets of the region.’ From Shubha Mudgal’s piece ‘ Music to their ears’ in the magazine Open(October 2011)