A just celebration of age
MEENA BANERJEE
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Kolkata’s music lovers honoured the city’s elderly musicians.
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100 reasons to admire the ustad
Held at a higher pedestal than gayak (mere vocalist), nayak virtually leads with his knowledge and original compositions. A prolific shaayar (Urdu poet) and lyricist, Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan has composed numerous khayal bandishes with ‘Rasan Piya’ as his nom de plume. The 100-year-old ustad is an exponent of the Gwalior gharana.
Sheer BlissUstad Abdul Rashid Khan
Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar gifted a memorable recital on the auspicious occasion of Pandit Purushottam Walawalkar’s birthday celebration at the residence of industrialist Jayanta Chatterjee (June 14). As suggested by the 85-year-young harmonium wizard whose exuberance as an accompanist takes any recital to a blissful plane, Kashalkar began with Yaman.
Essentially devotional or romantic, the ocean-like vast horizon of this majestic yet magnanimous evening raga reassures a novice but simultaneously offers a huge scope for creativity that implores an expert to explore new vistas.
Perhaps this inspired an aochar (introduction) of 20 minutes! Entreated by Kashalkar, one of the most revered khayal exponents of this era, each vital swara of Yaman throbbed with soulful mysticism. The mesmeric beauty of every standing swara, woven with gliding flourishes and filigree of several other notes, was divinity incarnate. ‘Notes’ is a poor translation of the term swara, which comes from the Sanskrit swa and ra meaning ‘inner glow’ drawing its sap from the musician’s devoted practice till the notes reflect the energy and glowing confidence of his inner self.
Walawalkar’s cheery harmonium, Yogesh Samsi’s sensitive tabla and Sameehan and Samarth’s vocal support helped the mood to prevail all-through the slow Jhumra composition and its gradual elaboration. An exhilarating tarana set to Teen-tala, sung in khayal-like style, crafted the climax before closing. He signed off with an equally delighting Desh.
Earlier, coaxed by his admirers, Walawalkar commenced the baithak (a sit-in soiree). He sang! The three items presented by him as homage to his three legendary mentors — Abdul Karim Khan, Bal Gandharva and Ustad Faiyaz Khan, reminded one of the famed fables attributed to the late Kumar Gandharva when, as a young boy, he captivated all by mimicking the finest nuances of the great masters of his era.
Spectacular event
Bowing before a six year-old promise and a century-young realisation, tabla exponent Samar Saha’s Sangeet Piyasi scripted a spectacular annual event at Mahanayak Uttam Mancha. The opening day of the two-day soiree was solely dedicated to the memory of Pandit Kishan Maharaj. The tributes, offered by almost all the leading musicians of Kolkata, were very moving.
So was the felicitation offered to the 100-year-young Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan the next day. Fêted musicians led by Vidushi Girija Devi and Ajoy Chakraborty unanimously acknowledged that the ustad, who continues to sing with the zest of a 25-year-old, “is a living miracle of our times and listening to his recital, studded with precious bandishes, is nothing less than a momentous experience.”
A bandish, literally meaning ‘bound’, actually holds the key to the raga it represents. Different compositions reflect different angles of a raga’s personality. For better understanding of a raga one needs the support of many bandishes.
His opening raga Nand, followed by a stunningly beautiful self-composed bandish in Bihag, a traditional trivat (a rarely sung composition that integrates the lyrics, the tabla/pakhawaj bols and sargams in its fold) and concluding dadra, proved that the resolute voice throw, the breath control, the range spanning two-and-a-half octaves, the astute command over rhythm and its complex variants, were much more than a simple miracle. They were made all the more thrilling by tabla virtuoso Sanjay Mukherjee’s lively accompaniment. The Nayak is devotion personified!
The esraj, a rarely heard instrument now, was delightful in the hands of young Shubhayu Sen Majumdar, who, aided by Samir Nandi’s tabla, gave a good account of aesthetically inclined virtuosity in Shuddh Sarang. As the opening artiste of the day, little Ankush Pal sprang a pleasant surprise with his double role. He ably supported himself on the tabla while singing raga Patadeep.
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