Homes of harmony
JITENDRA PRATAP
|
The Agra and Gwalior styles were brought to vibrant life by two eminent representatives in the Capital the other day.
|
AUTHENTIC Pandit Yashpal
It was a rewarding experience to enjoy authentic gharana music by Professor Yashpal (Agra gharana) and Meeta Pandit (Gwalior gharana) at the India Habitat Centre by the Ustad Yunus Hussain Khan Memorial Society to pay homage to the late Agra doyen, Ustad Vilayat Hussain Khan. Ustad Vilayat Khan, for the uninitiated, was the father of the late Ustad Yunus Hussain Khan.
Both the father and son duo, the two late Ustads, were highly dedicated gurus and gave their best to their disciples. Yashpal has certainly enriched his repertoire under the able guidance of his gurus whom he made proud.
Yashpal commenced with an elaborated rendition in Bihag raga, "Ho Maa Dhan Dhan Re", set to the 12-beat slow Ek tala. He certainly impressed with his reposeful handling of the composition and deft handling of the raga's format.
The next piece in the same raga set to madhya Teen tala ("Saajan Aaj Morey Mandir") was redolent with liltingly deployed variations that were typical of the Agra idiom.
He next rendered raga Nat, a popular melody with the Agra singers.
The madhya Teen tala composition "He Man Bhayo Re" although rendered briefly, delighted for being rendered in its authentic format.
Meeta Pandit.
He continued with two compositions in Kanada raga, one each in Kafi and Sohni, thereby presenting a good cross section of the gharana's repertoire.
He had commendable tabla accompaniment by Delhi's senior most maestro, Ustad Fayaz Khan, and on the harmonium by Sajjad Hussain.
Musical by birth
Meeta Pandit was born with a silver spoon in her mouth in the sense that music runs through her veins. After all she is the granddaughter of the legendary doyen of the Gwalior gharana, the late Krishnarao Shanker Pandit and daughter of the latter's son Laxman Krishnarao Pandit. Meeta had the good fortune of learning earlier from her illustrious grandfather and later on from her father, the present doyen of the gharana.
Meeta is the first woman of the family to become a full-fledged professional singer. She has a sharp and intelligent mind and is herself a highly capable teacher. Once a year she is invited to France to teach music and conduct workshops. Meeta also commenced her recital with khayals in raga Bihag with the typical nuances of her family's style and with the raga's format deliberated with good effect. Her next rendering was in the season's melody of raga Basant. The slow khayal "Nabi ke Durbar" was set to the 16-beat slow tempo Tilwada tala, a favourite time-cycle of the Gwalior singers. Meeta gave a detailed rendering of this well-known piece of music with her highly mellifluous sequences running into all the three octaves. The madhya Teen tala composition "Piya Sang Khelo Hori" was laced with many a colourful phrasing, released with melodic flavour. The tappa in raga Tilang was a brilliant finale to Meeta's impressive recital of the evening, for which she had excellent accompaniment on the sarangi by Bharat Bhushan Goswami and on the tabla by Ashish Sengupta.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
