Though not an avid fan of Bollywood, Australia’s most celebrated lutenist Joseph Tawadros would love to feature Amitabh Bachchan in his album. He tells K Bhardwaj about his love for gulab jamuns and Rajasthani moustaches
The only thing that Australian oud virtuoso and composer Joseph Tawadros couldn’t match up while being in Rajasthan is locals’ fascination for moustaches and colours. He’s so excited about the local flavours that he enjoys talking about people, food, music and kaleidoscope of Rajasthani traditions. After a hunt of almost half an hour after his eclectic performance, we finally found him at a dinner table where he was busy indulging in some ‘six gulab jamuns’. “I love this dessert. I can have even more and can outnumber you guys! I am a nomadic soul and try to embrace new people and culture,” he said while creating curls at the end of his moustaches. “See, I have also developed a great pride in my moustaches and it takes a lot of time in keeping it this way. People here have this natural look,” he said.
Known for his caustic sense of humour, he engages with the audience like no other artiste. During his performance at RIFF, he showed how Indians use different kinds of hand gestures to appreciate things, leaving his fans in splits. Joseph has been to RIFF multiple times but his each visit has been enriching. “Artistes are so versatile here. I have collaborated with different kinds of players of sarangi, tabla and other instruments but more than that, it is the artistes dynamism that excites me. You also get to learn about their traits and embrace them,” he shared.
Over the years, he has produced several albums and performances establishing the versatility of oud. “I do not perform in a fixed format. My music will be different tomorrow from what I played tonight. Generally, we have structured music with limited scope for improvisation. Here, it’s important to identify the rhythms on the sport and translate them,” he said.
Though born in Egypt, he migrated to Australia with his family when he was three. Initially attracted to the trumpet, he decided to learn oud when he was eight, after being fascinated by the Arabic music. He holds a bachelor of music from the University of New South Wales, where he was awarded a Freedman Fellowship for classical music. In the 2000s, he also studied in Egypt with violin player Esawi Dagher, son of the legendary violin player Abdo Dagher.
Though lute is not famous in India, he was surprised to see it in some Bollywood number. “Recently I saw five to six people with oud in the background and doing some belly dance. Maybe, Bollywood would like to pick up the instrument and experiment,” he said.
Joseph is not an avid fan of Bollywood but he would love to co-star with Amitabh Bachchan. “If I get an opportunity, I wouldn’t mind doing an act with him. Egyptians love Bollywood. But unfortunately, we musicians don’t have television sets. We just go out, play and evolve,” he summed up.