Rock, jazz, Carnatic and much more

Guitar Prasanna's tunes span genres and composers. He's visiting Dubai for a double concert on September 20

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Meet Guitar Prasanna, a musician extraordinaire. On September 20, at 5.30pm, his guitar will play the sublime strains of the revered Carnatic trinity Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Shyama Shastri. Two hours later, at 7.30pm, the same strings will slip into the lilting moods of three other masters who embody Indian film music - Ilaiyaraaja, RD Burman, and AR Rahman. Two concerts. Two genres. Multiple moods. And at the heart of it is one man and his guitar.

Prasanna is no stranger to Dubai. His earlier concerts here left audiences mesmerised. This time, he says, it is special because this is his first Carnatic concert in the city. He believes that the unique spirit of the Dubai audience will make this double concert memorable, both for him and them. Dubai, with its mosaic of cultures and tastes, is the perfect stage for this rare double act, he says. It's a space where the classical and the popular, the East and the West, can meet without borders. The Dubai concerts come under a series of events that he has been doing all over the world titled, One Man, One Guitar, Many Worlds.

Prasanna has long been a bridge between tradition and new audiences, and this dispels any doubts that might arise about Carnatic being unfamiliar territory to many audiences in Dubai. The fact that the audience here is curious, diverse, and open to crossing genres makes his music easily acceptable to all.

"I've performed in places like Alaska, Hawaii, Slovenia, Ghana — countries where people had never even heard a Carnatic concert, let alone a Carnatic guitar performance," he says. These experiences, he explains, have taught him how to make classical music inviting and engaging, ensuring that listeners from all walks of life can experience its beauty and nuance.

A boy, a neighbour, and a guitar