Moments of magic
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Kala Vihar celebrates its 49th annual festival.
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Girija Devi.
Kala Vihar in New Delhi celebrated its 49th Vaarshikotsav (annual festival) with a significant shastriya sangeet sandhya by Girija Devi held in an intimate baithak style. The occasion also saw the inauguration of Bijoy Kala Manch.
Manjushree Chatterjee, the founder director of Kala Vihar and a senior disciple of the late Shambhu Maharaj, held the audience spellbound with her seasoned artistry and crisp, poetic parhant when on Girija Devi's request she opened the enchanting evening with the invocatory Ganesh paran, a couple of tukras and gat-bhava, including the delicate `rukhsaar ki gat' with intense aesthetic appeal.
Girija Devi as usual opened her vocal recital with a khayal. The composition in raga Bhupali, "Hey Mahadev Maheshwar", set to Teen tala also served as an invocatory item, before she switched over to the light classical fare the audience were looking for.
Thumri in Mishra Khamaj, "Jaao Wahin Tum Shyam", set to Deepchandi, a 14-beat cycle, saw her in her element. The implied glimpse of Kedar was fused beautifully with Khamaj. The aavirbhava and tirobhava of such neighbouring ragas underlined her fertile imagination when she used them to her advantage. The precision of taar Shadja was beautiful but the climax came with the laggi on the tabla by Govind Chakravarti.
Next came an unusual chaiti in Bhimpalsi, "Piya Milan Ham Jaib Ho Rama" set to aadha theka. The unconventional but poignant use of Komal Dhaivata intensified the emotional content of the lyric. The dadra in Mishra Mand "Jaao Ji Jaao, Hamse Na Bolo" came as a melodious treat. Her accompanists Kamal Sabri on the sarangi and Zameer Khan on the harmonium were also inspired to give their best.
Traditional chaiti
Although Girija Devi had introduced the chaiti saying "you hardly get an opportunity to hear a chaiti like this," the audience wanted a chaiti in its traditional flavour. So she obliged with her favourite "Chait Mas Boleli Koyalia Ho Rama" before concluding her recital with a bhajan.
Sangeetam that promises "harmonizing souls", revived by vocalist Sarathi Chatterjee held its inaugural concert at the India Habitat Centre this past week. It was heartening to see young children opening the evening with a lakshan-geet, followed by a tarana in raga Bageshri, in perfect synchronisation of sur and laya. However, the main artiste this evening was Shubhendra Rao who gave a sitar recital accompanied by Mohammad Akram Khan. Born and brought up in a musical family Shubhendra is a talented disciple of Pandit Ravi Shankar.
Shubhendra opened his concert with the sombre evening raga Marwa. The detailed alap, jod and jhala revealed the raga gradually, especially in the lower octave with laraj-kharaj ka kaam, which is a significant feature of his illustrious guru's style. The slow composition was set to Chartala Ki Sawari — a challenging tala of 11 beats, apt for the serene raga he chose. Hisnext composition was set to drut Ek tala. One must commend the astuteness with which he carried it over, even to the climax of jhala, normally played in Teen tala, a comparatively easier time cycle. Shubhendra concluded his recital with a dhun in Tilak Shyam, a melodious raga created by Pandit Ravi Shankar. Akram Khan's crisp tabla enhanced the beauty of the concert.
MANJARI SINHA
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