A melange of melody

Vishnu Digambar Jayanti Sangeet Samaroh-2014 reverberated with the talent of the young and the accomplished.

August 21, 2014 07:20 pm | Updated 07:20 pm IST - New Delhi

Hindustani vocalist Pandit M. Venkatesh Kumar. Photo: V Sreenivasa Murthy

Hindustani vocalist Pandit M. Venkatesh Kumar. Photo: V Sreenivasa Murthy

The curtains fell on the four-day Vishnu Digambar Jayanti Sangeet Samaroh at the India Habitat Centre auditorium last Sunday with a riveting performance by master vocalist M. Venkatesh Kumar of Dharwad who seems to be getting better and better with each performance. A familiar artist on the Capital’s concert scene, he has built the majestic monument of his musical style by erecting a beautiful Kirana superstructure on the solid foundations of Gwalior gharana vocalism.

This has enabled him to imbue the robust Gwalior style with the tunefulness of the Kirana and its attention to the myriad nuances of swara prayog . Totally immersed in his creative mood, he forgot to even announce the name of the raga and hit on the vakra sampoorna raga Hamir immediately after appearing on the stage. And what a Hamir he sang!

Venkatesh Kumar chose the traditional vilambit bada khayal composition “Chameli Phooli Champa” and elaborated it using behlawa, bol-alap, bol-taans and aakaar taans, making judicious use of gamak. It was an inspired upaj-pradhan performance and he dazzled the audience with weaving beautiful yet unexpected note patterns and forceful yet pleasing taans wherein Hamir’s trademark Dhaivat added its lustre. He presented another traditional composition by way of chhota khayal “Kaise Ghar Jaoon Dheeth Langaarwa” and mesmerised the listeners further. When he was about to embark on the second raga of the evening, his accompanist on harmonium Pramod Marathe prompted him to announce the names of the ragas. The second raga was Ramdasi Malhar.

This variant of Malhar is supposed to be the creation of Nayak Ramdas of Gwalior. Venkatesh sang a neat bada khayal “Prabhu Maan Le Mori Baat” and followed it up with a sprightly chhota khayal “Badarwa Gahar Aaye”. Using both the Gandhars and both the Nishads, his rendering offered glimpses of Miyan Malhar’s silhouette too.

By showering forceful taans and enunciating the words appropriately, he was able to create the required emotional effect. There were only two things that were a little jarring. He resorted to sargams a little too profusely and displayed a fondness for staying on a note a little too often. When done sparingly, they are value-adding techniques but are by no means a virtue in themselves. Venkatesh Kumar was accompanied by Bharat Kamat on tabla and Marathe on harmonium.

Gauri Pathare and Wasim Ahmed Khan were the two major discoveries for this writer at the festival. A student of Kirana gharana teachers Madhuri Joshi and Gangadharvuwa Phimpalkhare, Gauri later learnt from Jitendra Abhishekhi who had the good fortune of learning from the likes of Azmat Husain Khan and Jagannathbuwa Purohit of the Agra gharana and Gulubhai Jasdanwala of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana. For many years, she has been under the tutelage of Padma Talwalkar who too combines the gayaki of Gwalior and Jaipur-Atrauli.

Endowed with a deep, resonant and mellifluous voice, Gauri chose Gawati as her first raga and her overture itself showed traces of the voice culture she has received from Dhrupad exponent Sayeeduddin Dagar. Her serious musical approach, well-sculpted taans and layakari were truly impressive. In both the vilambit and drut compositions, she also displayed an evolved awareness towards the utterance of the bandish and meticulously kept her Gawati from lapsing into Bhim. There were only a few dull portions in the alapchari in an otherwise scintillating performance. Gaud Malhar was her second raga and she sang it in more or less Jaipur style with the trademark bada khayal compositon “Maan Na Kariye”. However, one was a little baffled when she decided to wind up her performance with as many as two bhajans. She was accompanied by Rohit Majumdar on tabla and Marathe on harmonium.

Being the grandson of Ata Husain Khan, the 40-year-old Waseem Ahmed Khan is a blue-blooded representative of the Agra gharana that could boast the likes of Faiyaz Husain Khan, Vilayat Husain Khan, Azmat Husain Khan and Khadim Husain Khan. Sharafat Husain Khan, who died in 1986 while in his 50s, was the last great representative of this illustrious gharana. Waseem Ahmed Khan’s robust yet tuneful singing brought back memories of Sharafat’s concerts. He sang Jaijaiwanti and offered a majestic nom-tom alap that would have done any Dhrupad singer proud. His taiyaari was amazing as were his supple, forceful and varied taans and layakari. The Rangila strain was evident in the chhota khayal “Nadan Ankhiyan Laagi” made famous by Faiyaz Khan. He concluded his recital with an impressive Megh Malhar from the Agra mint. One hopes to see this wonderful singer performing more often in the Capital. Waseem was accompanied by Vinay Mishra on harmonium and Subhash Kanti Das on tabla.

Accompanied by Shubh Maharaj on tabla, Amaan Ali Khan played Rageshri and offered a brief alap-jhala before moving on to compositions. He faithfully adhered to the style of his father and guru, sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan and gave a satisfactory account of himself. Sugato Nag, accompanied by Akram Khan on tabla, played alaap-jod-jhala and three gats in Jaijaiwanti before concluding his performance with a Tilak Kamod composition. Young vocalist Sameehan Kashalkar, flautist sisters Suchismita Acharya and Debopriya Ranadive and Carnatic violinists Akkarai S. Subhalakshmi and Akkarai S. Sornalatha too performed at the festival.

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