Hindustani classical vocalists Anand Bhate and Rahul Deshpande have often sung in the same concert. Besides jugalbandis , they have made regular appearances at the annual Bolava Vitthal Abhang Festival held in July. They will perform on Friday evening to celebrate Sharad Poornima. Another concert on Saturday — Dhaval Nisha at the Raja Shivaji Vidyalaya, Dadar East — will feature flautist Paras Nath, sitar player Purbayan Chatterjee, and singers Sanjeev Chimmalgi and Devaki Pandit.
A disciple of Kirana gharana legend Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Bhate is looking forward to Friday’s show. He says, “There will be solo performances and duets. It will be a mix of classical, natya sangeet , abhang and film songs from Balgandhrva and Katyar Kaljat Ghusali . There will be special compositions on the moon.” Bhate will be accompanied by Aditya Oke on harmonium, Prasad Padhye on tabla and Pankaj Surve on side-rhythm.
Bhate began formal training at age seven from Chandrashekhar Deshpande and then learnt from Yeshwantbuva Marathe. Hugely inspired by Joshi, he eventually began learning from him.
He recalls, “Bhimsen ji was very encouraging. He would never scold you, but would explain again and again. His attitude was the same with everyone, including his son Shrinivas.”
According to Bhate, Joshi was clear about two things. “He told students not to run after concerts till they were ready. Secondly, he advised us to retain our original voice texture and not to copy anyone.”
Though Joshi was brief in the use of words, he would create a huge impact with whatever he said. Bhate points out, “Audience satisfaction was of utmost priority to him. He would joke that people shouldn’t fall asleep.”
For some years, Bhate had a regular job at a software company in Pune. But he quit that as both fields were time-consuming. He says, “I now focus totally on music. The Kirana style is admired for its emphasis on sur . It’s the job of people from my generation to involve younger audiences.”
Clearly, Bhate is fulfilling that responsibility with a sense of focus.
The author is a freelance music writer
Anand Bhate and Rahul Deshpande will perform at Kaumudi Celebrating Sharad Poornima at Manik Sabhagriha Auditorium, Bandra Reclamation at 7 p.m.today. See bookmyshow.com for details.
