MoonArra means “Three Streams. The lietmotif of all our lives is our quest and fascination for beautiful sounds – how sounds travelled from Northern India in the 13th century, journeyed thru Persia, Morocco even up to Andalucian Spain.  Our collective upbringing in Carnatic and Hindustani classical, the rhythmic and harmonic quality of jazz and a thousand other songs that we grew up with and meeting with diverse artists, languages  and styles, a celebration of the human spirit – it is a journey that has no destination. We are a world fusion band on a mission to discover ourselves through our music and also other artists we meet everywhere.

Our journey:  Both Madhuri and I began ours through music.  Our music connect, our experiences and our search for a meaningful musical identity took shape around the year 2000 at the Remember Bhopal concert at Chennai organised by Greenpeace.  Our quest continued with performances in niche, yet intimate venues, appreciative audiences where we performed with various musicians including ghatam exponent Sukanya Ramagopal.    Prashaant Davidson, a talented and accomplished bassist accompanied us at the MF Hussein musuem, Trans Indus Rainseed festival, Manipal County and many gigs.  (Tragically, Prashaant passed away in 2008)
Around 2002 I met the brilliant Prakash Sontakke.  I found  a energy and open approach to music similar to ours.  The flamboyant Karthik Mani joined us the following year and we began performing at small gigs and venues and found that we had a musical vibe and connect that needed nurturing.  Both Prakash and Karthik come from a rich Indian Classical tradition and were already performing with well known musicians and bands in India and internationally.  Meanwhile, our (Madhuri and me) travels took us to Egypt and a brief education in flamenco in Sevilla, Spain.  I picked up some flamenco and started playing the Oud.  Another trip to Europe and we returned with a richer music experience, with music samples from around the world, UK included.  It was finally in 2008, (after much persuasion from Madhuri) that I decided to give up a corporate career and decided to plunge  fully into music.  MoonArra had already been formed and had performed at the Indigo & Blues jazz festival.  But it was a major break last year in 2009 when we were invited to perform at the Java Jazz Festival in Indonesia, the largest jazz festival in the world.  Kenny ( Wilson Kenneth ) our youngest and newest member joined us then.   
We have already performed at other overseas International festivals, and musically, we hope the journey continues to be exciting and enriching. The sound of MoonArra continues to be shaped by all five of us.

MoonArra supports causes and would be willing to work with organisations or institutions who promote causes and are looking to spread awareness or raise funds.  Please email us at moonarra@gmail.com.