“Sufis have been celebrating basant since the time of Nizamuddin and Khusrau,” says classical vocalist Subhendu Ghosh. Ghosh who spearheads the cultural organisation Pratidhwani, has planned his annual programme this year around the theme of spring, or basant (vasant) and has selected a number of compositions of Amir Khusrau, popular for his poetry that contains the heights of Sufism as well as the colours of human nature. Ghosh is concerned about the growing tendency towards giving all events and festivals a communal or religious tinge. Therefore in this programme he is emphasising the secular traditions associated with the season of celebrating the coming of mellow weather after the harshness of winter.
Apart from Khusrau, he is also going to present other compositions related to the season, such as one on Holi by Gauhar Jaan the popular singer of the 19-20 Century.
The programme takes place this Saturday, the day, according to the lunar calendar, demarcated as Vasant Panchami. This day is associated across northern India with worship of Saraswati, the goddess of learning. It might be mentioned that classical musicians and dancers are among those in society who pay homage to Saraswati as the embodiment of knowledge rather than as only a Hindu goddess. Cognisant of the dual associations of the day, Ghosh has planned a two-part evening which gives due share to invoking Saraswati. The first will consist of his vocal concert, during which documentary filmmaker Yousuf Saeed will add introductions and commentary. The other performance of the evening will be an Odissi recital by Meerambika Mohapatro, a disciple of Guru Kumkum Lal.
Meerambika, apart from an invocatory mangalacharan seeking blessings from Goddess Sarawati and other compositions from the conventional Odissi repertoire, will conclude with a song by Amir Khusrau whose theme, says the dancer, rejoices in the “confluence of secular knowledge and art that co-exists without boundaries.”
The programme takes place on January 24, Alliance Française de Delhi, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi, 5.30 p.m.
