It was an evening of soft and haunting music unfolding the elegance and charm of Hindustani as New Delhi-based Pt Subrata De strummed his way on sitar to the hearts of music lovers blending it with V. Seetharamaiah’s key board in an appealing jugalbandi at Kalabharati Visakhapatnam. Pt Subrata De, a disciple of Kolkata-based Pt Manilal Nag and an exponent of Vishnupur gharana put on view his perfect grip over the instrument and commendable ease in coalescing it with flowing notes from keyboard and Seetharamaiah, a self-taught artiste, who admirably imbibed varied charms in Hindustani idiom of music, matched every nuance of the chosen phrase in his own way keeping the audience riveted to seats.
The session opened with raga Bhageswari on sitar. In an exhaustive solo performance, Pt Subrata De delved deep into the well of this ma-emphasised raga showcasing its romantic countenance in the process in its myriad frames of beauty particularly the mood of pratiksha, waiting for the beloved. Seetharamaiah followed it up with raga Poorvi and Sohini in teen tal on key board; both these associated evening and late night time slots respectively testified his vidwat. The duo chose raga Yaman for jugalbandi that showcased its soft and elegant shades in many a way.
Pt Saibal Chatterjee’s support on tabla was a tour de force. Earlier, M. Sasirani presented an impressive Carnatic classical vocal. Ably accompanied by H. Ramacharan on violin and S. Subrahmanyam on mridangam, she sang the chosen pieces with verve. The concert was very brief comprising just four numbers; it was good on classical count. She began it Darabar varnam and went on to present Samajavaragamana in raga Hindola, Bantureethi in raga Hamsanadam and Krupaya paalaya of Swathi Tirunal in raga Charukesi. Visakha Music and Dance Academy in association with Seetha Ramaiah Sangeetha Seva Trust hosted the event.
