Even at the ripe age of 68, the Dover Lane Music Conference wore the glamour and exuberance of a 20-year old in 2020 – with a blend of superb and substandard music funded by a host of sponsors for four night-long sessions dedicated to the centenary of Pandit Ravi Shankar and to the memory of the late Ramakant Gundecha. It also saw sarod maestro Aashish Khan receiving the Sangeet Samman of the year.
As in the past, Kolkata’s Nazrul Mancha, the venue of this much-awaited winter soiree, remained the most sought-after rendezvous for musicians and socialites from all over the globe. The latter come here to be seen, to socialise and to make a fashion statement! It becomes possible because apart from the classical music inside the huge several thousand-capacity auditorium, exotic food and beverages remain available all through the night in the stalls, nicely lined up outside the hall. Any disappointing recital would spill out foodies and boost up the sales of these inviting stalls.
And sure enough, it worked out that way with constant commotion in the hall and in front of the stage, except perhaps, on the final day! The packed to capacity hall witnessed Pandit Jasraj, a nonagenarian young man, staging the grand finale in the wee hours with élan. The radiance of his rendition in ragas Charukeshi, Gurjari and Miyan ki Todi scaled melody-dipped spiritual heights when he sang ‘Allah jaane’ before closing with a bhajan extolling Lord Krishna.
In sync: Pt. Bhajan Sopori and Abhay Rustum Sopori
Earlier, the evening began with a scintillating recital of Pandit Bhajan Sopori and Abhay Rustam Sopori, the father-son duo epitomising the age old Guru Shishya Parampara. Their alap in raga Bageshri remained rooted on dhrupad’s majestic nuances such as long sustained notes, emotive oscillation, deliberate meends, heavy gamaks, merukhand-based ornate phrases – having shades of bold and soft lilts. Discerning listeners responded heartily to this unusual feat achieved by them on an instrument like santoor. Encouraged, they stretched the rhythmic journey of jod-jhala segments longer than usual and crafted umpteen varieties of dancing melodic designs with the inspired, dramatic support of Rishi Upadhyay (pakhawaj) and Abhijit Banerjee (tabla). The gatkari in raga Kausi Knada showcased their grip on different talas. It was no less thrilling than a percussion quartet replete with sawal-jawab and saath-sangat .
Another father-son team arrived next, but this time Armaan Khan, the junior, was a teenaged beginner as compared to Ustad Rashid Khan and yet he won hearts with his steady support based on long, peaceful notes while his guru, apparently terribly off mood, fiddled with chromatic Gandhars and Nishads (a strict ‘no’ in Indian classical music) and jumped from octave to octave to touch the ati mandra shadja in almost every melodic sentence. As such the intrinsic pathos of Jog Kauns – a raga which almost always unfurls its inner beauty once touched by Khan’s loving, intoxicating voice, remained frigid despite the reassuring presence of Vijay Ghate (tabla), Murad Ali (sarangi) and Vinay Mishra (harmonium). In comparison, his interpretation of Basant (Lagi un sang preet) was beautiful and so was his thumri. Undoubtedly, his magic captivated all!
Carnatic rhythm
Next, the Carnatic rhythm ensemble, featuring such greats like Vikku Vinayakram (ghatam), V Swaminathan (mridangam), Selva Ganeshan (khanjira) and Umashankar Ganeshan (morsing), actually inspired the audience to keep the rhythm instead of dozing off during a post mid-night session! This was a blessing for a comparatively young but extremely competent sarod exponent Amaan Ali Khan. His version of Nandkauns came with a short auchar and gatkari at around 2:30 am. His next choice was an elaborate Todi, followed by a less heard raga, Anand Bhairav with a beautiful composition, steeped in gayaki anga, from the treasure trove of his illustrious gharana.
Other highlights of the festival were dhrupad maestro Uday Bhawalkar (Yaman); khayal maestros Ajoy Chakrabarty (Ahir Lalit), Ashwini Bhide (Khem Kalyan) and Venkatesh Kumar (Maru Bihag). Sitar maestros Shujaat Khan (Sampoorna Malkauns) and Kedia Brothers (Manoj and Mor Mukut - (Chandranandan)).
