Music from the ghats
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Artistes help to popularise Indian music at a `Jalsa' on the banks of the Ganga.
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TOUCH OF CLASS Pandit Shiv Kumar performed at Jalsa.
Recentlythe Indian Music Academy, a new Mumbai-based organisation, presented a classical concert, Jalsa, at Tulsi Ghat, on the bank of the Ganga in Varanasi. This five-hour programme had two attractions: a flute recital by Rakesh Chaurasia and a santoor recital by Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma.
The Academy was launched early last year by President APJ Abdul Kalam. It is a body of musicians from differentgenres. Formed primarily to spread and popularise Indian music around the globe, it was conceptualised by Art and Artistes, an umbrella organisation founded by Durga Jasraj, daughter of Hindustani maestro Pandit Jasraj.
Rakesh, nephew of Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia, presented raga Yaman on his long flute. With the stress on Teevra Madhyam and the phrase Ni, Re, Ga, Re, Sa, Pa, Ma, Ga, Re, Sa, he decorated this common but important raga in a most modern way.
A few years ago, in a programme organised by Pandit Rajan-Sajan Mishra, he had played in a traditional way, but this evening, his approach was different, as he introduced some gimmicks. . He concluded with two bandishes in raga Desh and a Pahadi dhun. His manner is different from the tradition of Pandit Pannalal Ghosh, Annapurna Devi and Pandit Ronu Mazumdar.
Next came Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma. Recently he presented a beautiful Rageshri at the Ganga Mahotsava, but here at Jalsa, on the other bank of the Ganga, he touched the soft notes of raga Bageshri. Though he was concerned over the insensitive sound system, he presented the ascending komal swaras in a sublime manner. After the concert there was to be a question-answer session, an integral part of Jalsa. But with the concert ending late on a chilly night, there were no questions. Though such interaction is one of the IMA's main objectives in organising Jalsa, it is true the mind seeks solitude to absorb and preserve a fine concert. Ram Kumar Mishra, a brilliant exponent of the Banaras gharana, accompanied both the artistes with his powerful tabla.
GAUTAM CHATTERJEE
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