Wooing with meaning
MANJARI SINHA
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Madhup Mudgal's recital at the IIC festival contained ragas less heard these days
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PHOTO: S. SUBRAMANIUM
MEANING WITH EMOTION Hindustani vocalist Madhup Mudgal who performed at the IIC Experience the other day.
The distinctive feature of the India International Centre's annual festival, The IIC Experience, is the range it presents in music, dance, theatre, films, exhibitions of books, art and sculpture, et al.
The musical fare offered a sumptuous variety from a jazz concert and Flamenco on the piano to Hindustani vocal, instrumental and Carnatic music concerts.
The morning concert of Hindustani music by Madhup Mudgal this past Saturday was specially conceived for morning ragas, which are normally not rendered in the routine evening programmes of music. The sprawling fountain lawns echoed with the serenity of Madhup's meditative Bilaskhani Todi with which he opened his concert.
The tuneful ambiance was created by the accurately tuned tanpuras played by three of his able students in the background. The introductory alapchari was a pencil sketch of the raga, which got detailed treatment in the following bara khayal, a famous bandish (composition) of Sadarang, "Neeke bol" set to slow Teen tala, like a painter putting various shades of colour by his deft brush strokes.
The note-by-note delineation of the raga through the bol barhat kept unfolding the meaning and the emotional content of the composition. Even the sargam sequences conveyed emotions. The taan patterns were varied and rendered effortlessly.
The subsequent chhota khayal "Neeke neeke shobha dekhat" was chosen thoughtfully to match the lyrics of the slow khayal. The lilting gate of the composition had a playful quality in the hide-and-seek of bols and laya around the sam. The main raga concluded with a captivating tarana set to drut Ek tala that had the unmistakable signature of Kumar Gandharva.
The next raga was Bhairav with two beautiful compositions in Jhap tala and Teen tala respectively, depicting the Ritu Chakra - the changing seasons around the sun. Madhup chose this raga that is hardly heard apart from during the basic training of the 10 thaats to elementary students, and gave it an amazingly delightful treatment. The Alhaiya Bilaaval that followed also had a refreshingly unusual flavour, which reminded one of its Carnatic cousin Bilahari. This was also followed by a tarana set to drut Ek tala, a captivating composition of Kumar Gandharva.
Madhup concluded his concert with a Bhairavi bhajan. He was ably supported on the tabla by Prasun Chaterji and on the harmonium by young Pitamber Pande. His disciples Saavani, Joshi and Arindam gave him ideal vocal support as and when needed.
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