Going by the track record of Mangalacharana, an organisation run by two well-known artistes since 2014, the opening session of its half-day long soiree (1-9 p.m.) always featured a star performer; a clever strategy to attract listeners, nay viewers (because music is very much a visual delight these days). But the 5th annual soiree presented by Mangalacharana, in association with Swar Zankar (Pune) at Rabindra Sadan recently proved that the organisers have gained enough confidence and do not require such crutches any longer!
The opening session, albeit scheduled to commence at 1pm, an inconvenient hour from all respects, rested on the young shoulders of two brilliant performers of Purab Anga Gayaki, proudly presented by VSK Baithak. But by the time the event took off (around 2 p.m.), the prestigious venue had heard the footfalls of very many keen listeners. This was enough for Abanti Bhattacharya and Jhumpa Sarkar, the two ‘Girija Devi ‘Sarvottam’ Puraskar’ winner disciples of Vidushi Dalia Rahut (also present in the auditorium), to give their best!
Duets
Albeit trained by one mentor, both are endowed with different personalities. Abanti is an outgoing, vivacious person with a robust voice while Jhumpa is reticent, cryptic and has a delicate, sweet voice. All this added delightfully different hues to their thumri singing – one after the other. It was Jhupa, the younger of the two, who began with a short and sweet auchar in Khamaj before singing the oft-heard Khamaj thumri, ‘Chhab dikhla ja’ set to slow jat. The soulful bol-banav initially hung around the lower part of the octave, as if etching the image of her ‘Banke Sanwariya’ in a meditative mood (Dhyan lago); but conscious enough to incorporate the deviously touched teevra madhyam to create the ‘banka’ effect. To display the range of ‘Banki chitwan’, her voice, steeped in melody, went up to the higher reaches of the upper octave with effortless ease. However, she fell short of the enthusiasm needed for the laggi segment.
This was properly compensated by Abanti who chose to sing, ‘Parat nahi chaina’, a bandishi Kafi thumri, tightly encrusted in rhythmic patterns. Such compositions, set to the swaying gait of addhatala and displaying double, triple speed, tihai, etc., are usually sung with dance. Her taans, especially in ‘tappa-anga’ gave it an ornate character. Debashis Adhikary, also a disciple of Dalia Rahut, was so inspired that his harmonium offered a few discreet ideas too! Debabrata Gupta’s tabla excelled in laggi. This perky mood persisted as both Abanti and Jhumpa joined in to sing ‘Sanwariya pyara re’, a lilting Pilu dadra with inspired improvisations that complimented one another to the tee.
Another enthralling duet followed this lovely melodic item when renowned Burman Brothers, Madhu and Gopal, adorned the stage with their vociferous tabla and shrikhol respectively. They played teental replete with introductory peshkar, kaida, paran etc.; but in the language and style of their chosen instruments. The pitch-difference of the two instruments created the magic along with the comparatively heavy mnemonics of the tabla as opposed to the superfine ones of the shrikhol.
In the final slot of the event, there was another duet between two Pune-ites Ustad Shahid Parvez and Pandit Atulkumar Upadhye. Supported by Pandit Anindo Chatterjee, this sitar-violin dialogue, albeit uneven from all angles, chose raga Yaman as their medium.
Going Solo
Pandit Vinayak Torvi etched raga Puria Kalyan with an emphasised Kalyan anga. This pristine delineation (Aj so bana (slow-medium Ektal) and “Bahut din beete” (fast Teental), replete with behlawa, sargam and varied taans in his powerful, sonorous voice left a memorable impact. Apurba Mukherjee (tabla) and Hiranmay Mitra (harmonium) offered very sensitive support to the veteran vocalist who sang an electrifying tarana in fast teental. His next choice was raga Tilak Kamod and a bhajan which reminded one of the immortal style of Pandit Bhimsen Joshi.
Sarangi, a fast dwindling but beautiful string instrument, was a commendable inclusion in this soiree. The young Ustad Sabir Khan selected an equally beautiful late afternoon raga Patadeep to humour his listeners after his lengthy speech. Technique-wise, this had no chink and even at high speed the notes retained their pinpointed accuracy, but the raagroop could do better by exploring more phrases beyond the repetitive gMPSN and fast running long taans covering several octaves during teental gatkaris. Tabla wizard Parimal Chakraborty patiently waited for the gaps which were very few; but left his impact in the laggi after the concluding dhun, sung and played by the sarangi-nawaz.
