The core of Indian classical music rests on the three notes Sa Ma and Pa. Sa stands for Shadja, the tonic which gives birth to six notes and the base of the entire edifice of musical creations. The acronym of Madhyam or the middle of the entire Saptak (septet) is Ma, and Pancham (the fifth note) is Pa. The olden vardhaman-vidhi (elaboration), as described in Bharatmuni’s Natyashastra, was based on the Shadja-Madhyam samvad; but today’s raga sangeet essentially thrives on the fifth-note based dialogues between the lower and upper halves of the septet. In short, Sa-Ma-Pa was and still is an important Trik or triad of Indian classical music – just as the way the term ‘Trik’ takes the entire Kashmir Shaivism in its fold. As envisaged by Acharya Abhinavgupta, the greatest musicologist of 13th Century who hailed from Kashmir, Shaivism and Sangeet are the two faces of the same coin.
Father-son partnership
One will not be surprised if all this inspired the Sopori Academy of Music And Performing Arts of Delhi to choose SaMaPa as the identity of their annual soiree which is growing from strength to strength under the guidance of santoor maestro Pandit Bhajan Sopori and his worthy son-disciple Abhay Rustam Sopori. Due to their relentless efforts, these days SaMaPa has become synonymous to the melodic Trik or triad. Its objectives are: to bring Kashmir, replete with its music, arts and culture, to the mainstream, to present a few unsung heroes of classical music on its prestigious platform as performers and also to inspire all by felicitating dignitaries of the music world.
The SaMaPa Sangeet Sammelan 2018 is all set to present the 14th annual fest with a five-day soiree in the Capital from 21-25th November to celebrate the musical journey of music connoisseurs and artistes from all across the country and abroad. The main attraction of the festival will be the melodic exchange between two titans Pandit Bhajan Sopori and the tabla wizard Pandit Kumar Bose. Both are known for their powerful styles of playing albeit one displays the Sufiana music of Kashmir while the other appears on stage with the flamboyance of Banaras Gharana’s baaj. They will be performing together in Delhi after almost a decade.
Pan-Indian representation
This apart, the festival is going to feature more than seventy brilliant musicians of different age groups from different parts of the country. Bengal takes the lead in this firstly by gifting the star performer like Kumar Bose and secondly by offering Kolkata and Shantiniketan groomed veteran vocalist Vidushi Sumitra Guha, steadily rising sitar exponent Partha Bose of Maihar Gharana, renowned vocalist Sandipan Samajpati who has blended his Kotali Gharana sensibilities effectively with that of Gwalior Gharana under the guidance of the legendary Pandit Ram Ashreya Jha, and scientist-musician Sarathi Chatterjee belonging to Kirana Gharana.
From Maharashtra, two young musicians are coming from the stables of their world-renowned legendary fathers such as Bharat Ratna awardee Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and Padmabhushan awardee Ustad Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan. Both, vocalist Shrinivas Joshi and sitar player Zunain Halim Khan are striving to keep the styles of their respective father-gurus intact by teaching and performing, but the shadows of these giants loom larger than life and throw unreasonable comparisons on their path. The opportunity offered by SaMaPa may turn out to be a turning point of their musical journey.
Celebrated musicians such as flautist Rupak Kulkarni, vocalist Jayateerth Mevundi are known for their virtuosity. A lot of expectation is pinned on the violinist Asghar Hussain, especially because violin is rarely played in Hindustani classical arena nowadays. The festival is introducing young talents like vocalists Mahalaxmi Shenoy, Sumit Pandey, Swarn Vij, Nitin Sharma, Rindana Rahasya; tabla players Dinesh Kashyap and Buddhisar Vats and harmonium players Tanushree Kashyap and Lalit Sisodia and several others. More than thirty young children from various schools of Delhi NCR will commence each day of the festival with choral invocation. They are being groomed by the young santoor virtuoso and composer Abhay Rustum Sopori who will also conclude the festival with his recital and plans to present some unique compositions of his 300-year-old Sufiana legacy of Kashmir.
Other attractions include some path-breaking presentations like the theme-based ‘Swar-laya Samwad’ and ‘Triveni’. The first focuses on the dialogue between melody and rhythm while the latter is a musical confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati rivers, venue of the forthcoming Kumbh Mela.
Inspired by the ancient seers’ holistic views, SaMaPa believes that different art forms are correlated. An exhibition of around fifty paintings from Jammu and Kashmir will prove the point.
(On 21-22 November at Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, 7p.m. and 23-25th November at Kamani Auditorium, Copernicus Marg, New Delhi, 6.30 p.m.)
