Colours of greatness
JITENDRA PRATAP
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Women vocalists held sway at the Sabrang Festival in New Delhi recently.
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Photo: Sandeep Saxena
A DASH OF BRILLIANCE Malati Gilani performing at the Sabrang Festival in New Delhi.
This year's Sabrang Festival, Shraddhanjali 2005, in memory of the late Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, presented by the Bade Ghulam Ali Khan Yaadgaar Sabha, in collaboration with the India International Centre, was an all-woman vocalist affair. Whereas Malati Gilani and Manorama Ahuja are the two disciples of the late ustad, Shanno Khurana is the disciple of the late Pandit Musalgaonkar and the late Ustad Mushtaq Hussain Khan, respectively of the Gwalior and Rampur-Gwalior gharanas. The last named Shanti Hiranand is a disciple of the late ghazal queen Begum Akhtar.
With khayals in Raga Yaman, Malati Gilani, the Founder Trustee and Vice President of the Yaadgaar Sabha, provided a befitting curtain raiser to the Shraddhanjali 2005. The three compositions of her mentor, "Daata garib nawaaz", "Aaj rang laagi" and the tarana, respectively set to madhya Ek tala, madhya Teen tala and drut Teen tala, were rendered with balanced and refreshingly deployed variations in alap, badhat and taans. The raga's format was given a most appropriate handling all through.
Another set of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan's compositions in Raga Kedar, "Piya ki muraliya", "Naveli naar" and the lively tarana, respectively in slow, madhya and drut Jhap talas were laced with short but highly compact variations with good awareness of the rhythm. The day being Janmashtami, the birthday of Lord Krishna, Malati rendered a tuneful bhajan in the pentatonic raga Tilang of Khamaj thaat, "Manmohan Shyam" set to madhya Teen tala that came as a befitting finale to her impressive performance of the evening. Malati had commendable support on the sarangi by Ustad Ghulam Sabir, on the harmonium by Rehman Khan and on the tabla by Nawab Ali.
Last minute cancellation
There was much audience disappointment for the last minute cancellation of the vocal recital by Shanno Khurana owing to her sudden indisposition. However, her well-trained and gifted disciple, Maitrey Mazumdar, made her guru proud with her fine expositions in raga Bageshwari. Her vocal mannerisms had more affinity to those of the Gwalior style. The slow Ek tala composition "Kaun gat bhayee" a popular piece of music with Gwalior maestros, particularly of its late doyen, Krishnarao Shanker Pandit, was given a detailed handling with tunefully rendered alap, badhat, behelawa and bole-taans. The next piece, in the same raga "Piyarawaa garwaa" set to madhya Teen tala, was redolent with many a lilting variation and good interplay with the rhythm. A brisk-paced tarana in madhya Ek tala rounded off the Bageshwari series with colourful effect.
A charmingly rendered composition of the late Ustad Mushtaq Hussain in raga Jhinjhoti, set to madhya Teen tala, "Darashan ko taras rahee ankhiyaan" would have been an excellent finale to Maitrey's impeccable recital of the evening, The concluding number in raga Khamaj however seemed rather superfluous. She had excellent support on the sarangi by Bharat Bhushan Goswami and on the tabla by Akhtar Hussain.
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