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Hundred reasons to smile
IN PERFORMANCE Pandit Bhajan Sopori with his son Abhay
To commemorate its 40th anniversary, the Indo French Technical Association (IFTA) organised a santoor recital by Pandit Bhajan Sopori this past week.
Present on the occasion was Dominique Girard, the Ambassador of France in India. He congratulated the Chairman of IFTA, Nadir Godrej, for his participation in promoting art and culture through the organisation. There was a mixed Indo-French audience of music lovers present at the concert.
The musical evening kicked off with a performance by a disciple of Pandit Bhajan Sopori, Ragini Rainu, who is not a santoor player but a Sufi vocalist. Through her enchanting and melodious voice she led the gathering into the world of renowned Sufi poet Bulle Shah.
Following this was a santoor recital by the father-son duo of Pandit Bhajan Sopori and Abhay Rustam Sopori. Their dual act mesmerised a part of the audience. Part, because some people carried a confused expression on their face trying to figure out what was happening. Knowing much of the audience was uninitiated in classical music, the santoor maestro took the initiative to make things clearer. The two even sang along with parts of the compositions so that the listeners could identify with what they were playing on the 100-stringed instrument.
The twosome created an element of mystery among the audience. There were instances where one felt the music was over but then suddenly it would start all over again, climbing to a crescendo of melody, speed and resonance.
On the occasion Pandit Sopori, who has been an enthusiastic propagator of Indian classical music, stated, "We need to spread our traditional values. More and more people should know about our culture, and Indian classical music is an integral part of our culture."Talking about his son who played along with him, he said, "Abhay is a very good composer. He is quite dedicated towards music."Not many people are aware that this young lad who accompanied his father on the santoor has invented a new instrument, the sur santoor, for which he received the Young India Award 2006. At the concert, Abhay's fellow disciple accompanied him and his father on this instrument.
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