Raining ragas
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Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia showered the audience with raga Megh
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Photo: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar
Masterly Pandit Chaurasia
“Sangeeta Darpana”, our ancient treatise on Indian classical music depicts a legendary raga of the monsoon season Megh in a lyrically exuberant mode: “…lustrous like a blue lotus, the divine smile of his moon-like face is sweeter than ambrosia. Clothed in yellow in the midst of heavy clouds, he shines among the heroes…The thirsty Chataka birds that drink only raindrops, at the sight of him cry out for water.” Such a grandiose, mythopoeic imagination of the raga Megh materialised into reality in the bansuri recital of the maestro Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia for the Barkha Ritu monsoon music festival in Bangalore.
Pandit Chaurasia’s delineation of the raga captured its romantic spirit. He commenced with a slow, meditative alap in the non-rhythmic anibaddh mode, highlighting the sonant shadja and the consonant madhyama notes of this raga derived from the Khamaj family. A raga of the Malhar group, Megh was an appropriate choice to usher in the theme of the festival: “Celebrate Rains, Celebrate Life”.
Pandit Chaurasia was ably supported by two of his senior disciples, Devapriya Chatterjee and Rajesh.
The evocative alaap smoothly progressed into a vibrant jod and jhala. Pandit Chaurasia took up a madhyalaya Jhap tal composition in his Gat rendition. Ustad Rashid Mustafa Thirakwa accompanied on the tabla. The Jhap tal composition was followed by a faster moving enchanting rendition in Megh in drut teen tal, then followed by the popular night melody Desh, the raga of haunting thumris and soulful bhajans.
Pandit Chauraisa presented two gat compositions in madhyalaya teen tal and drut teen tal. Yielding to requests from the audience, Panditiji rendered a teen tal composition in Miyan Ki Malhar, another monsoon raga with an indefatigable zeal. The magnificent tribute to the monsoon melodies concluded with a Dadra composition in raga Mishra Pahadi, enriched with hues of lok sangeet tradition.
K.S. VAISHALI
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