JLN Stadium, New Delhi
October 31, 2015

Zubin Mehta isn’t just a man of words, he backs them up with deeds as well. Two years ago he told Sydney and Melbourne audiences that we had something special and cherishable in the Australian World Orchestra, the crack ex-pat band brought together under the inspired leadership of conductor Alex Briger. Now he seems determined to prove that fact to the world, beginning with his homeland, by helming them on a weeklong three-city tour of India. And what was true in Australia held fast in Mumbai, Chennai and finally New Delhi where, visa issue notwithstanding, I was fortunate enough to catch them playing a former weightlifting stadium on a sultry Saturday night.

“Zubin Live in Concert”, my ticket proclaimed, stating loud and clear that for Indian fans of Western classical music there is only one Maestro Mehta, returning to the city after a 15-year absence but clearly far from forgotten. And with many of the 2,500-strong audience taking their seats up to an hour ahead of schedule, there was definitely a bit of a buzz going around. Well-heeled Indians milled and chatted; brightly turbaned Sikhs rubbed shoulders with ladies in elegant saris; the glitterati...