August 15, 1947, when Indians first breathed the air of freedom, inside a large, spacious house in Delhi, eminent classical musicians added to the cheer of Independence. The musical soiree that evening marked not just the breaking away from colonial shackles, but was an expression of liberated minds and souls. It was at such a historical moment that one of the oldest classical music events in the country, the Shriram Shankarlal Music Festival, was born.
Over the decades, the festival has been a meeting point for eminent and young artistes. The three-day 2018 edition is no different. It began on March 8 at the Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra lawns in Delhi and will end on March 10 with a formidable ine up - Shounak Abhisheki (vocal), Debashish Bhattacharya (slide guitar), Arati Ankalikar Tikekar, Uday Bhawalkar (vocal), Irshad Khan (sitar), Ulhas Kashalkar (vocal), Jayanthi Kumaresh (veena), Bombay Jayashri (vocal), Kalapini Komkali (vocal), Ronu Majumdar (flute) and Pt Jasraj (vocal).
“The festival with no sponsors was initially known as Jhankar. It is an outcome of my mother Sumitra Charat Ram’s organisational skills and passion for performing arts. That is how I learnt Kathak from the inimitable Shambhu Maharaj, sarod from none less than Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and Biswajeet Roy Choudhary and trained in theatre under master Ebrahim Alkazi,” says Shobha Deepak Singh, who has been organising it from 1969.
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House of music
“I remember the day Pt. D.V. Paluskar performed in our house. The concert went on till the wee hours as was the norm then. Pt. Ravi Shankar performed on my grandfather Sir Shriram’s birthday. A day did not pass without an eminent artiste visiting us. These included Uday Shankar, Pt. Ravi Shankar, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Rukmini Devi Arundale, Ustad Vilayat Khan, Kesar Bai Kelkar, Bade Ghulam Ali, Pt. Kishan Maharaj, Ustad Allaudin Khan, Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan, Prithviraj Kapoor, amongst a host of others. I was nurtured in such an ambience. Soon I knew what I wanted to do — train in various art forms and continue the work started by my mother. My early tryst with the masters in the field is what gives this festival an edge. As an organiser, when you know the nuances of the art you are presenting, it helps in maintaining the quality,” explains Shobha.
From its original venue the Red Fort, the festival moved to Jantar Mantar, NDMC Building, Constitutional Club and this year, is being held in the lawns of the Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra.
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“The setting up of the Kendra was another great contribution of my mother to the country’s art and culture,” says Shobha. The Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra was set up in 1952. It trains students in Indian classical dance styles and music (vocal and instrumental). Its allied organistaion, the Shriram Centre for Performing Arts, is the most happening cultural space in the national capital. The centre includes a theatre for performing arts, a theatre repertory company and an acting school.”
Today, the Kendra is known more for the annual Ramlila, held during Dussehra. The Ramlila, over the years (first staged in 1957), has turned into a creative performance, under different choreographers, who bring together classical and folk forms. The Kendra’s annual ballet festival is another important national cultural event. At seventy plus, Shobha feels these events have what helped her lead a wholesome and happy life.
“I owe a lot to my husband, parents and the past masters, who opened my eyes to this beautiful world of art. For instance, the late maestro Pt. Mallikarjun Mansur encouraged me to develop an archive at the Kendra. He would spend hours at the kendra recording rare ragas. Along with him, Biswajeetji and I worked hard on this dream project.”
As she gets busy with the last minute preparations, Shobha talks about the emotional bonding with the Shankarlal Festival. “It reminds me how as a four-year-old I was moved to tears seeing the Tricolour unfurl for the first time. For me, it is not just another cultural event. It takes me ‘into that heaven of freedom’, to quote Rabindranath Tagore.”