The audience were surprised by how well European and Indian styles merged : Arunitha and Aanya

Malayali musicians and sisters Arunitha and Aanya Mohan performed with German band Playfords at the Playground Music Festival in Weimar this weekend.

Speaking to us from Germany, Arunitha says, “The show was really nice. We received a great response, and the audience were very impressed. They are not familiar with our style of music, and their Renaissance and early folk Baroque music is entirely different from ours. So, they were surprised to see how well both styles blended beautifully. We played three songs along with the Playfords and also presented two of our own compositions — Dhanashree Thillana and Raghuvamsha Sudha in Kathanak uthuhalam. We also performed a trio piece with Nora Thiele, who played the mridangam.”
Aanya reveals that the audience was especially intrigued by the trio performance. “The violin is an adopted instrument — we borrowed it from European music and adapted it into Carnatic tradition. Because of that, they were amazed by how we could play gamaka, sliding of notes, and gliding techniques on it,” she shares.

Arunitha, who plays the veena, says that the instrument drew a lot of attention after the concert. “Many people came up to me to ask about the veena as it was new to them. They were curious about how it’s played. It was an overwhelming experience, and we were so happy with how the audience received our collaboration with the Playfords,” recalls the musician who also sang a song, titled I Will Give My Love An Apple, along with the band.

Both the sisters say they felt like part of the Playfords ensemble. “They didn’t treat us like guest performers, but as members of the band. We had wonderful practice sessions where we shared suggestions, discussed how to blend our music, and exchanged ideas about style and energy. We didn’t face much difficulty matching their rhythm and spirit — they made sure of that. It was lovely spending time with them as a family. We even had a farewell dinner together,” informs Aanya.

Over the weekend, the duo also attended workshops — one of them focusing on “Improvisation in Historical Times,” which explored the nature of early music.