Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
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Tunes of the river
GAUTAM CHATTERJEE
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The Ganga Mahotsav might have been dampened, but succeeded in mesmerising.
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Powerful Dona Ganguly and troupe and (right) Hari Prasad Chaurasia.
This year, the Ganga Mahotsava, unusually, could not fully win the heart of Banaras due to the recent bomb blast, but the first two evenings mesmerised. Pandit Channulal Mishra, Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia and Dona Ganguly were the first artistes to perform at the three-day festival. Channulal Mishra is the finest thumri vocalist of the Banaras gharana after Girija Devi. He says, “I never sing the thumris of Moujuddin but of Jagdeep Maharaj as I belong to the family lineage of Jagdeep ji. But I use the singing style of the Kirana gharana while singing Khayal.”
He started with a khayal in raga Hamsadhwani and then launched into a thumri. The listeners were anxiously awaiting his special recital.
Mishra uses the alapchari ( usually the introductory portion of a khayal) in the midst of bada khayal as he feels, “Bandish se pahle sadharan shrota alap sunna nahi chahte” ( Uninitiated listeners do not find the alap before the composition so attractive). Mishra first created the playful mood of Holi by singing a hori, “Khele masaane me Holi…” and then he evoked the mood of Diwali with his newly created raga Dipali. The listeners were absorbed. He says, “My intention is simply to make listeners joyful so that they will not say that Indian classical music is a bore.” An Odissi dance recital by Dona Ganguly’s group, from Kolkata, was the next attraction. Not a direct disciple of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, Ganguly creates choreography that is beautiful, while not directly focused on the classical nuances of the dance. She works on the modern sculptural form with her group. Finally, Hari Prasad Chaurasia took the stage. It seemed the tunes of the Ganga were flowing from his flute. Maru Bihag was the raga which he chose for this elegant depiction. This raga has been popularised on the sitar by Ustad Vilayat Khan and in vocal by Prabha Atrre. But this time the listeners of Banaras were listening to this raga for the first time on the flute.
Chaurasia seldom uses kana (sweeping from one note to another using srutis) instead of andolan (to flow lyrically and internally with notes) He developed this raga with the intricate use of komal (flat) swaras and finished in tranquillity.
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
|
