Hindustani singers Rajan and Sajan Mishra are all set to perform at the Dakshin Brindavan Sangeet Sammelan 2019 organised by flautist Pravin Godkhindi this weekend.
Connoisseurs are wondering if they will get to hear ‘Jay Jay Jay Durge Maata Bhavani’ that the duo have regaled their audiences for the last few decades.
“Their Banaras style of singing the bhajan is mesmerising,” says Vikram Sanjeev, an ardent fan.
The duo are popular for their renditions of bhajans and couplets by Kabir. “The Mishra Brothers will be felicitated with the Krishnadhwani Award instituted in the memory of late vocalist, flautist and harmonium maestro Pandit Venkatesh Godkhindi by the Sanjog Charitable Trust,” says Pravin, who is taking his father’s music legacy forward. “The duo were trained by seniors such as Bade Ram Das Mishra, father Hanuman Prasad Mishra, and sarangi maestro Gopal Prasad Mishra,” Pravin said.
“They started performing as teenagers. My father had regularly played harmonium for the Mishra Brothers. I will never forget the academic discussions on music the three used to have that would go well into midnight whenever they visited our home.”
Next generation
The second edition of the Dakshin Brindavan Sangeet Sammelan is a curated blend of the upcoming and the legendary, according to Pravin. While Ravindra Yavagal (tabla) and Vyasmurti Katti (harmonium) will perform with the Mishra Brothers, Satyanarayana Raju will present a Bharatnatya solo.
“The second half of the performance will be devoted to the next generation — Nandini Shankar, granddaughter of Hindustani violinist N Rajam, Shadaj Godkhindi, grandson of Pt. Venkatesh Godkhindi, and Ishaan Ghosh, grandson of Pt. Nikhil Ghosh,” says Pravin.
It would be interesting to see young minds combine musical spontaneity and adventure with soulful music.
“It is a responsibility to live up to the legacy, I hope to do justice to the training I receive from my father, Pt. Nayan Ghosh,” says Ishaan.
The amalgamation of diverse styles is what excites violinist Nandini Shankar who considers it a privilege to continue her legacy.
“It is wonderful to complement each other on stage. It is a karmic reward to receive this knowledge from a young age, not only to experience musicality but also as a useful tool for spiritual elevation,” says the twenty-something Nandini.
Seventeen-year-old Shadaj is happy to be coming together as a trio for the first time. “It is an exchange of emotions through music which I have imbibed from my father and grand father.“The responsibility is in taking across my grandfather’s unique school following the Gayaki style, Kirana Gharana,” says Shadaj.
Pravin has experimented with tantrakari style and carnatic music, western jazz and rock music. “The experience is in living through all of them,” adds Shadaj.
Dakshin Brindavan Sangeet Sammelan is on January 27 at Chowdiah Memorial Hall from 5 pm onwards
