The rarely heard Lucknow baaj of tabla reverberated in Rabindra Sadan when its greatest proponent Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri presented a captivating solo recital as the final artiste of Mangalacharana Sangeet Sammelan. His traditional Lucknow “peshkaar” transitioned into the gharana’s special “palta-theka” but not before inviting son-disciple Nilan Chaudhuri, who played a kaida (dha-gena-dha) in Tisra jati. By turns, both went on to play kaidas belonging to different gharanas, followed by a high-speed “dhine-gene” and “dhirkit” relas by the Master. Accompanied by Pankaj Mishra’s tuneful sarangi, the duo also played varied gat, tukra and parans interspersed with energetic padhant. The deep melodious tone of tabla has a particular regal quality which has become the senior’s signature. The recital was streamed live by an over-enthused admirer. Hosowever unethical, this proves how overpowering the veteran’s art is which compels a youngster to share his joy with like-minded friends!
Indrani Mukherjee, who sings khayals lustily, appeared with a bouquet of evocative thumri, nirgun dadra and hori in the penultimate slot. Her grasp on the “sahitya” and relevant “bhaav”, steeped in the culture of the Hindi belt, proved that she has reinvented herself as a very effective thumri exponent, evidently guided by her learned guru Manju Sundaram. Earlier, sitar wizard Kartik Seshadri could begin this noon-to-night soiree with a sparsely heard afternoon raga; but he chose the popular early evening raga Patadeep and inspired by the perceptive support of tabla maestro Arup Chatterjee, followed it up with Mallikapriya, his own creation named after his daughter.
Immensely popular Kathak virtuoso Vishal Krishna held on to his ground by risking instantly created replies when aesthetically challenged by vociferous tabla player Biplab Bhattacharya. In this era of pre-planned presentations, this was extremely refreshing! Young duo, vocalist Shubhankar Dey and violinist Rohan Naidu (disciples of Pandit Devashish Dey) gave a pleasant surprise with their matured delineation of raga Madhuvanti (slow Ek taal, medium Teen taal, fast Teen taal tarana) and a thrilling Hori-dadra. Among the two accompanists Mihir Kundu and Rupak Mitra, the latter’s repartee showed sparkling imagination.
Dhwani’s festival
Renowned musicians-turned-organisers trigger greater expectations, and justifiably so, as proved by Mangalacharana at Rabindra Sadan. Another such event followed soon at Sarat Sadan (Behala) when Dhwani Academy, under the stewardship of tabla maestro Abhijit Banerjee, organised its annual festival in memory of his guru, Jnan Prakash Ghosh. Albeit focused on a social cause of teaching tabla and awarding scholarships to visually challenged children and showcasing their talent along with Dhwani Academy’s students’ tabla ensemble, this two-day soiree featured eminent musicians with Saaz Aur Awaaz solely dedicated percussion.
The last segment of the first evening saw celebrated vocalist Ashwini Bhide delineating raga Bihag that delved deep in the depths of emotions gently cradled by wave-like meends with Sanjay Adhikary’s unobtrusive tabla offering Teen taal at slow pace. The beautiful bol-banav of “Lat Uljhi Suljha Ja” in medium tempo radiated different shades of romantic mood before turning to jod-ki-taan along with sharp sapats. Rupashree Bhattacharya’s harmonium kept pace with the fast sparkling phrases deftly. Rageshri, her next raga, was as beautiful and she concluded with a soulful bhajan.
Earlier promising young sitarist Snehesh Nag (disciple of Pandit Buddhadev Dasgupta) commenced the evening with raga Bhimpalasi. Ably assisted by Uchhal Banerjee’s tabla, his rendition spoke high of an imaginative mind working behind the well-organised expression that injected lots of emotion in skill-play. Vocalist Shantanu Bhattacharya etched the devotional mood of raga Poorvi very lovingly with the help of beautiful compositions of Jnanbabu.
The perceptive support of Sudhir Ghorai’s tabla and Rupashree’s harmonium led him to sing raga Basant Bahar replete with a Bangla song (composed by Jnanbabu and originally sung by Prasun Banerjee). Renowned sarod exponent Partho Sarothy chose the mystical persona of raga Shree for alap and jod (a la taar paran) to which Ashoke Mukherjee’s broad-faced tabla added the depth of pakhawaj very effectively. During the gatkaris they could do better by opting for the hi-pitched tabla for varied coloration.
The day dedicated to percussion started with the vigorous and thrillingly well synchronised Maniuri Pung Cholam and Dhol Cholam including pung, duff, madal, kartal et al. The energetic percussion ensemble by Dhwani’s students, who regularly play in different Bangla bands, was composed by Abhijit Banerjee based on the concept of Rhythm Parade of Jnanbabu. Essentially based on pakhawaj, tabla, khol, khanjira, this also included Latin American percussion instrument, kajon.
The festival ended with a santoor recital, as many consider this as a percussion instrument that can create melody too. Around noon, Rahul Sharma did create engaging melody with raga Bhupal Todi. His alap followed the badhat style of his legendary father Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma. So did his rhythm-play-infused gatkari. Superbly supported by Abhijit Banerjee’s seasoned tabla, the young exponent displayed great confidence and maturity while handling the complex patterns and phrases. This definitely indicates a future full of hope.
