New Delhi: Industrialist Anand Mahindra praised Congress leader Milind Deora for exhibiting his musical abilities at a Blues music event — Mahindra Blues Special — in Mumbai on Saturday. Mr Deora is well-known for his passion for music. Mr Mahindra shared a clip of Mr Deora playing blues guitar and captioned the post, “And on the marquee tonight at the Mahindra Blues was former MP and union minister Milind Deora (stage name: MD Mississippi) demonstrating his musical talents. Perhaps the only politician-blues musician in the world. His party is the INC, and with him, the ‘C' stands for cool!”
Watch the 45-second clip here:
Since being shared, the video has been viewed over 41,000 times. Mr Deora reshared Mr Mahindra's tweet and thanked him “for keeping the Blues alive”.
A few days ago, the official Twitter handle of the Mahindra Blues had shared the line-up of all the performers. While introducing Mr Deora, they had captioned the post, “This man dons many hats. One of his favourites is the one he wears when shredding his guitar. A prolific Blues guitarist, Milind Deora juggles his time between the world of politics and the world of music — the latter being the one closer to his heart.”
According to Mr Deora's website, he was first given the guitar when he was 7 and since then he's been passionate about it. Mr Deora has drawn musical inspiration from a wide range of singers and genres — from funk classics like Earth, Wind & Fire to Hindustani Classical luminaries like Ustad Bismillah Khan. However, it was during his time in Boston that he discovered the genre that would mould his musical career as an adult — the Blues.
Mr Deora grew enamoured of the blues guitar after hearing Stevie Ray Vaughan's legendary album Austin City Limits for the first time. Playing on stage alongside Buddy Guy, one of Mr Deora's blues heroes, is still a highlight of his musical career.
The Mahindra Blues Special took place in Mumbai on March 12. Because of the COVID-19, the event had not been held in-person for the previous two years.