For body and soul
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Musical stalwarts were in town this past week to enthral listeners.
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CHARGED Ashwini Bhide Deshpande. Photos: Ashis Sengupta.
Established with the objective of providing awareness and understanding to combat cancer, the Delhi branch of the Indian Cancer Society (ICS) presented a melodious vocal recital by Ashwini Bhide Deshpande in its annual Artists Against Cancer Concert at Kamani auditorium this past week. An outstanding vocalist of the famed Jaipur-Atrauli tradition of Khayal singing, Ashwini represents the new generation of young veterans who assure us of the safe and secure future of classical music.
Mukul Shivputra. Photos: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar.
Her musicianship is characterised by a blend of tonal sweetness coupled with vitality and emotion. Opening her concert with raga Jhinjhoti she chose vilambit and madhya laya compositions based on an invocation to Lord Shiva as it was the eve of Maha Shivaratri. The melodious alap in the beginning created a devotional aura before she commenced the slow bandish "Mahadev... " set to Jhap tala. The tender treatment of the raga and the composition was carried out with such deep reverence even in the bol badhat that at times the flourishes of tabla while catching the sam acted as `rasa-bhanga' - a hindrance in the bhakti rasa. The chhota khayal "Patidevan Mahadev Shiva Shambho" set to Addha theka was the famous bandish composed by Ustad Aman Ali Khan of the Bhendi Bazaar gharana. Ashwini translated each and every adjective of Lord Shiva into swaras charged with emotion. The vigorous and varied taan patterns adorned the bandish from various starting points. Then came two lovely compositions in raga Basant set to Roopak and Teen tala respectively, that created the lively ambience for the Hori, a Brahmanand composition that followed in the traditional combination of raga Kafi and Chaancher theka. Ashwini concluded her concert with a Shiva stuti based on raga Bhairavi.
Great accompanists
Mahmood Dhaulpuri's harmonium support was an added attraction while Sudhir Pande accompanied her on the Tabla. Dedicated to the memory of the late Ustad Shafaat Ahmed the 59th Shriram Shankarlal Music Festival 2006 was organised by the Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra recently at Kamani auditorium. Orthodox yet progressive and eclectic musicians of the contemporary scene presented in the three-day festival included Kishori Amonkar, the Dhrupad singers the Gundecha Brothers, besides Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt on his Mohan veena, Rahul Sharma on the santoor among others.The festival opened with the pensive Marwa by Mukul Shivputra, son of the legendary Kumar Gandharva, who is known for his unorthodox catholic approach to music. The meditative alap took you from the mandra saptak to the gradually ascending notes till the Dhaivat with a kana of Nishad before he started the bandish "Kavan kaaj... " set to Teen tala and rested with peace at the tar Shadja. The festival concluded with the enthralling evening of Gana Saraswati Kishori Amonkar who treated the audience to her freshly minted ragas. She commenced her concert with Bhimpalasi an afternoon raga which is hardly heard in evening concerts.
Her next choice was Hansa Kinkini, an old time raga rarely heard nowadays. Throughout the evening, till the concluding "Baabul Mora... " in Bharavi, whatever she sang had her inimitable signature. Mahmood Dhaulpuri on the harmonium, Milind Raikar on the violin and Dixit on the Tabla not only accompanied but enjoyed her music throughout.
MANJARI SINHA
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