What's this man didgeridoo-ing?

MUMBAI: Australian didjeribone player Tjupurru was greeted by the cheering of a full house gathered at Cross Maidan for an evening of music at The Times of India KalaGhoda Festival. The cheering continued throughout his 45-minute set, which commenced at the perfect winter dusk hour of 6pm.

The didjeribone, Tjupurru's instrument of choice, is a variation of the didgeridoo, that traditional wind instrument devised by his aboriginal forefathers, today hugely popular across several cultures.

Having playfully introduced himself as a 'one-man band' Tjupurru explained, "Looping previously recorded sound allows me to do what I do on stage." Taking the yellow-and-black instrument away from his mouth, he added, "Apart from the looped sound, everything you hear just now is coming from my mouth."

When he was not making music, Tjupurru held on to his audience's attention with his witty and even political commentary. "Now I'm going to play for you some of the best sounds that I've heard in this country," he said and then jokingly proceeded to play a pre-recorded loop of car horns. "If you know a horn manufacturer, then we should get them to tune horns to different notes so that we can make music and dance when those things toot all over the place," he added. And while using grabs of horn sounds picked up from the streets is no new phenomenon, rarely has any musician controlled these sounds in a way that they get your feet tapping.

As the sounds of the electric guitar reverberated from his mouth and his didjeribone, Tjupurru mimicked the rock 'n' roll air guitar moves that recalled Jimmy Hendrix's onstage antics. This was followed by a somber concluding thought: "In 1967, Australia for the first time allowed the aboriginals to vote. Before that, my people did not exist. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't be playing here." Another round of well-deserved applause broke out.

(Tjupurru will perform again today at Chhatrapati Shivaji Vastu Sangrahlaya Gardens, 5pm onwards.)