In the Chhaya of the guru

Pandit Narendra Nath Dhar and Pandit Nayan Ghosh paid melodious tribute to Pandit Radhika Mohan Maitra at a concert in New Delhi

SHOWING HIS METTLE Pandit Narendra Nath Dhar

The birth centenary of Pandit Radhika Mohan Maitra, one of the greatest repositories of sarod craft, was celebrated with a melodious concert featuring Pandit Narendra Nath Dhar and Pandit Nayan Ghosh

A series of memorial functions have been held to commemorate the centenary birth year of one the greatest repositories of traditional sarod craft and rare ragas and compositions, Pandit Radhika Mohan Maitra (also known as Radhu Babu) who was born in 1917. Kolkata, his city of residence started the ball rolling this February, the month of his birth, with a display of his rare instruments, talks by his disciples Pandit Budhadev Dasgupta, Pandit Samarendra Sikdar and Somjit Dasgupta, and a concert by Debsmita Bhattacharya on sarod This was followed by a sitar concert by Ustad Shahid Parvez. A month later, another memorial event was organised by his followers featuring a tabla jugalbandi recital by Pandit Nayan Ghosh and his amazingly talented son Ishaan.

In Delhi, one of his most senior disciples Pandit Narendra Nath Dhar played a tribute to his guru on the sarod followed by a tribute on sitar by Pandit Nayan Ghosh, at the Habitat Centre. (Ghosh is a rare musician who is as adept at tabla as he is at sitar). The event was organised by another musical descendant, Dr Chandrima Mazumdar, who has written an extensive doctoral thesis on the doyen.

Dhar cleverly chose a raga that is associated with Radhu Babu, Chhaya. The Chhaya presented by Dhar was indeed masterly; he protected it from shades of ragas Kamod, Nat and Kalyan. As he puts it, he showed 12 “angs” (facets) of aalap, ending with lari, lappet, larand, (all stroke related sarod baaj terminology), then a jhala. His minimally adorned playing had an unparalleled grandeur and dignity associated with his guru, whose every note had a purpose of use. The teen taal gats that followed were in raga Kamod, again a raga associated with Radhu Babu. On tabla was the unobtrusive but effective sangat by Durjay Bhaumik. The third item was indeed rare – three very beautiful, intricate gats with “dir dir” bol work, and unusual “lapets” (twists) in raga Kafi, made by three generations of Senia Shahjahanpur Ustads – Ustad Murad Ali Khan, his adopted son Ustad Abdullah Khan and grandson Ustad Mohammed Amir Khan (Radhu Babu’s Guru). In the music world today, provenance of old compositions is rare, with most practitioners just saying that what they play is “purani cheez”, so this was indeed a delight. The final piece was a quick gat in a Raga composed by Radhu Babu, Chhaya Bihag.

Pandit Nayan Ghosh

Old association

Ghosh also has an old association with Radhu Babu – his father Pandit Nikhil Ghosh was an old friend of Radhu Babu, and he himself recalled learning a Bageshwari bandish as a youngster from Radhu Babu. Speaking in awe, he said sitting with Radhu Babu for 30 minutes was equivalent to getting training for 40 years! He also has learnt several old compositions from Radhu Babu’s senior most and most prolific disciple, Pandit Budhadev Dasgupta. He played Raga Jhinjhoti; his playing was elegant, “silsila daar” (in sequence), and he played with great “ada” (flair). The tabla accompaniment was by Shubh Maharaj of Banaras gharana, who is today amongst the leading upcoming tabla players. The next raga was Bihag, again played with tremendous finesse and rounded, subtle sitar strokes. The last piece was a lyrical raga Khamach, a gat based on the vocal “koyaliya”. Fitting tribute indeed!