From the very heart of India
MANJARI SINHA
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India International Centre in New Delhi recently hosted a three-day festival of music, dance and films to celebrate 50 years of Madhya Pradesh.
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PHOTO: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
CAPTIVATING VOICE Kalapini Komkali gave a fine performance at the Madhya Pradesh Festival.
To celebrate 50 years of the State, a three-day festival of music, dance, and screening of films, seminars, and cuisine of Madhya Pradesh titled From the very heart of India - The Madhya Pradesh Festival was mounted recently by the Madhya Pradesh Government in association with the India International Centre. The Centre made the most appropriate venue decorated with beautiful sculptures and a photo display of some of the historical monuments of Madhya Pradesh in the open areas, an exhibition of paintings by famous artists and handicrafts from the State in the committee room converted into an art gallery. Seminars on art, architecture, literature and music were organised in the conference hall. Chanderi and Maheshwari saris were hung on the staircase leading to the dining area, where special cuisine of the State was served for dinner. The main auditorium of course showcased the best of films, music and dance styles from MP.
Unique history
The festival was inaugurated with a welcome speech by Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, and Soli Sorabji, Chairman of the Centre, followed by an orchestral presentation by the Maihar Band which was established way back in 1918 by none other than Ustad Allauddin Khan, fondly called Baba. The band has a unique history. When an epidemic left many children in Maihar orphaned, the then Maharaja of Maihar state requested Baba to take these children under his care and teach them music. The ustad adopted 28 children and put together the band, then a novel concept for Indian classical music, as he blended together folk and Western classical music. This is the fourth generation of Maihar Band artists who are playing the original score specially composed for the band by Baba Allauddin Khan. The band that played raga Mishra Kirwani that evening, comprised instruments like sitar, sarod, cello, violin, esraj, nala-tarang, chandra sarang (an instrument created by Baba) and tabla.
This was followed by a screening of "Hansa Akela", a film on the life and times of the exceptional musician Pandit Kumar Gandharva, directed by Jabbar Patel, who has done a wonderful job using rare archival footage, as for instance a 12-year-old Kumar giving a public performance. The thoughtfully conceived film also used pages from the family album, concert recordings, and people like Pandit Chandrakant Lele, Shantaram Kashalkar, Pandit Ramashraya Jha, Pandharinath Kolhapure, Satyasheel Deshpande, Madhup Mudgal, S.N. Verma, Ashok Vajpeyi, even dancers like Leela and Madhavi sharing their memories of the man and his mesmerising music. The film, which left a few viewers choked with emotion, was the highlight of the inaugural evening.
Kalapini Komkali's vocal recital was by far one of the best performances of the festival. Her elegant voice with an open aakaar conveyed the entire artscape of swara and shruti in whatever she sang. She opened her recital with a traditional bara khayal in raga Bageshri, "Sakhi man lage na", set to vilambit Ek tala, and touched the finer aspects of the raga in her well gathered cohesive badhat. The clear enunciation of the lyric, and the swar sangatis enhancing its emotional content were evident in the chhota khayal in Teen tala as well that went "Gundh lavo ri maalaniyan". The tarana that followed was equally impressive. Next came a thumri in Mishra Gara, a Malavi folk tune and the concluding Bhairavi bhajan. Earlier, the evening began with a Kathak performance of Suchitra Harmalkar and Kartik Samooh.
The Gundecha Brothers gave an aesthetically appealing Dhrupad recital in raga Bhoop, preceded with a detailed aalapchaari. They concluded with a Kabir bhajan set to Sool tala rendered in typical Dhrupad style. Meeta Pandit represented the Gwaliar gharana specifically in her tappa, which she rendered in raga Kafi. Prahlad Singh Tipanya presented Kabir gaayan in folk style. The festival concluded with a lively tala-vadya, a percussion ensemble where Anoop Singh on dholak, Saleem Allawale on tabla, and Akbar Khan on naquakkara took turns to display their virtuosity, accompanied by Farookh Lateef Khan playing a lovely lehera.
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