The ‘Teen Prahar’ music festival, organised by the Mumbai-based Banyan Tree Events, was back in Bengaluru after a long hiatus. Held in Chowdaiah Memorial Hall, it showcased Carnatic and Hindustani exponents and featured twilight and night melodies (sandhiprakash and nishakaleen) from the teen prahars (three quads) of the raagdari Hindustani music tradition.
The five-hour festival began with ‘Young Blossoms’ featuring artistes of promise. Percussionist Roshan Kolatkar skilfully delineated the diverse aspects of Teental (rhythmic cycle of 16 beats). His lucid execution of the kaidas and his energetic tihais bore the unmistakable stamp of his guru, Pt. Suresh Talwalkar. He was accompanied on the harmonium by the talented Sriraksha, whose mellowed saath was a perfect foil to the vibrant tabla solo.
Another young prodigy, Sana Manoj, endeared herself to the audience with her rendition of the famous Tyagaraja composition, ‘Shobillu saptaswara’ in raga Jaganmohini (Rupaka). The disciple of Kalavathi Avadhoot, Sana stole the hearts of the listeners with her earnest attempt to capture the salient aspects of manodharma sangeetam through her evocative alapana and impressive rendition of the composition, ‘Mi valla gunadosha’ in Kapi (Khandachapu).
Her improvisations, marked by neraval and kalpana swaras, and her commendable sense of involvement with the music made it amply clear that the little girl can blossom into a promising artiste. Pranavi’s melodic violin accompaniment and young Sudhanva’s lively support on the mridangam enhanced the concert.
Rahul Sharma with Pt. Bhawani Shankar and Pt. Ram Kumar Mishra | Photo Credit: Banyan Tree Events
Rahul Sharma, son and disciple of Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma, began his santoor recital with Bhoopali, that hails from Kalyan thaat and is a audav jati raag with five notes. He was accompanied by the pakhawaj virtuoso Pt. Bhawani Shankar and was supported on the tabla by Pt. Ram Kumar Mishra.
His alap-jod-jhala was a nice blend of rhythm and melody. In the jhala in Bhoopali that he performed with Bhawani Shankar, the intricate aspects of the ‘tantrakari ang’ fused with the sounds of the pakhawaj, highlighting the attractive features of the ‘dhrupad ang’.
In the gat, Rahul presented a composition in Mat taal (nine beats), followed by a sparkling Drut Teen taal composition in a faster tempo. He concluded the concert with a lilting Mishr Pahadi composition set to a brisk Dadra (six beats).
Folk-classical collaboration
Carnatic violinist Kumaresh surprised the audience by taking up raga Mohanam, the equivalent of raag Bhoopali. He explored the nuances of the raga through his rendition of the Muttuswamy Dikshitar composition. The vibrant phrases in ragas Mohanam, Gamanashrama were matched by an effervescent accompaniment on the mridangam by Arjun Kumar and on the ghatam by Tiruchi Krishnaswamy.
Kumaresh with folk singer Suryakanth | Photo Credit: Banyan Tree Events
Kumaresh collaborated with the talented Kannada folk singer Suryakanth to perform a folk and classical version of raga Kamboji.
The most-awaited concert of the festival was of Ustad Rashid Khan, one of the most celebrated classical vocalists today. Commenting on his musical skills, Pt. Bhimsen Joshi had said, “The future of North Indian vocal music rests in Rashid Khan’s voice”.
The scion of the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana began with the late evening raag Purva Kalyan. A mood of nostalgia set in, as he took up the traditional bandish, ‘Aaj so ban’ in Vilambit Ektaal, reviving memories of Pt. Bhimsen Joshi’s magnificent gayaki of this vilambit bandish.
Keeping with the mood and sensing the expectations of the audience, when Rashid Khan took up the Drut Teental bandish, ‘Bahut din beete, beete’, the signature composition of the late maestro, there was thunderous applause. With his deep emotive powers, astounding vocal skills, mature raagdaari, technical finesse and variety, ability to sing complex taans, and forceful enunciation of sargams, Rashid Khan proved his mastery over khayal music.
While Ojas Adhiya alternated between mellowed and ebullient saath on the tabla, Vinay Mishra on the harmonium and Murad Ali on the sarangi accompanied the ustad with precision and elegance in the ‘alap-bol-alap- sargams-taan’ sequences eliciting many ‘wah wahs’ from the audience in the Drut teen taal composition, ‘Man magan mero bhayo sajani’ in the same raag.
Ustad Rashid Khan concluded the concert with the classic thumri ‘Maar dala najariya milaike savariya’ in Pahadi, and the popular Bade Ghulam Ali Khan thumri, ‘Yaad piya ki aaye’.
The Bengaluru-based writer reviews classical music.
Published - April 07, 2022 06:31 pm IST
