The Delhi Classical Music Festival (25th-29th October) presented by Sahitya Kala Parishad, Department of Art, Culture and languages took a flying start at the Kamani auditorium, with the vivacious vocal recital by Begum Parveen Sultana. Conventionally the senior most artiste performs as the concluding vocalist or instrumentalist of a particular session in any music conference but the order was reversed at this annual festival of Delhi Government. Just like the inaugural evening, the second evening was opened by Pt. Ajoy Chakravarty, the third by Pt. Venkatesh Kumar, the fourth evening by Pt. Madhup Mudgal and the concluding evening had Pt. Jasraj. The judicious blend of senior and junior artistes though included Ud. Shujat Khan (sitar), Pt. Bhajan Sopori with son Abhay Sopori (santoor), Bhuvanesh Komkali (Vocal), Ud. Bahauddin Dagar (Rudra veena), Murad Ali Khan (sarangi), Fateh Ali Khan (sitar), Ajay Prasanna (flute), Ud. Akram Khan & son Zargham Khan (tabla), Nishad Bakre and Nitin Sharma (vocal).
Initiated into classical music at a tender age by her father Ikramul Mazid and further groomed under the tutelage of the renowned Guru Pt. Chinmoy Lahiri and Ud. Dilshad Khan, Parveen’s melodious voice has a range of three-and-a-half octaves. She is equally adept in forms like khayal, tappa, chaturang, tarana, thumri, dadra, ghazal and bhajan. That she has a great fan following was proved by the over-flooded Kamani auditorium that evening. With the accompanying artistes like Paromita Mukherjee on harmonium and Mithilesh Jha and a bunch of disciples, she took the stage for her inaugural concert on the opening evening of the five-day festival.
Principal asset
Parveen’s voice is her principal asset. The evolved maturity of her cultured voice became obvious when she first went down and stayed on the mandra (lower Octave) shadja for an elongated breath, not just touching the demanding note to return back instantaneously, during the introductory aalap of Maru Bihag that she chose for her main raga. Although one wished, she should have opted for the more spacious raga Bihag than its lesser variety, Maru Bihag. The justification was given by her in the introduction itself, offering the concert to the departed thumri queen Girija Devi, who according to Parveen ji, liked her Maru Bihag.
After rendering the vilambit (slow tempo) bada khayal and the medium tempo chhota khayal of the main raga adorned with sargam and aakar taans, she presented her oft-heard Hansadhwani Tarana before the concluding Bhairavi, ‘Bhavani Dayani…”, set to Jhap-tala on public demand.
Her gayaki was secure but the faster taans slipped at times. More than that, she seemed to be singing for the listeners and not for herself, when the strength of Patiala Gayaki lies in the inwardness and its ability to sing without performing. It was a deliberately calibrated performance of technical virtuosity and consummate skill including the echo effect that is her signature trait. Both the tabla and harmonium accompaniment were superb which she herself praised “Masha Allaah, kya khoob baja rahe hain ye log, jo hamaare samne bade hue hain!”
Later that evening came a first rate duet performance on sarangi and sitar by the gifted brothers Murad Ali Khan and Fateh Ali Khan respectively. Belonging to the sixth generation of a musical family of reputed sarangi players of Moradabad gharana, the twin brothers were Initiated into classical music by their grand father Ud. Siddique Ahmed Khan and further groomed under their father Ud. Ghulam Sabir Khan. Apart from the rigorous taalim and riyaaz ( training and practice) they both have a keen musical sensibility too.
Opening their sarangi and sitar duet with an introductory aalap in raga Shyam Kalyan they played the slow, medium tempo compositions in teentala and a drut composition in drut-Ek-tala before concluding with a jetspeed jhala in Teentala. They were dexterously accompanied on tabla by the well known percussionist Anish Pradhan from Mumbai.
The young duo showcased their imaginative mijaz dari or the romantic fervour specially in the concluding dadra, a traditional composition with the old world charm, where the lilting laggi of Anish Pradhan too got tremendous applause. It goes to their credit that the music lovers sat through their concert and did not leave after the virtuoso vocal recital of Begum Parveen Sultana.
(For another story on Delhi Classical Music Festival turn to page 8)
