Throbbing with life

Ustad Rashid Khan and Vidwan Vikku Vinyakram were in full flow at the HCL Concerts in Delhi-NCR this past week

April 20, 2018 01:15 am | Updated 01:15 am IST

MASTER PERCUSSIONIST Vidwan Vikku Vinayakram

MASTER PERCUSSIONIST Vidwan Vikku Vinayakram

Today, HCL is one of the largest patrons of the classical arts in India, with mega events in Delhi, Gurugram and Noida, and with smaller, very frequent stand alone concerts in Chennai, Lucknow, Nagpur and Faridabad. The featured artists are Carnatic as well as Hindustani classical. In the National Capital Region last week, there were concerts of Pt Hari Prasad Chaurasia with nephew Rakesh, Vidwan Vikku Vinayakram and his percussion band of six, including award winning son Selva Ganesh, Ustad Rashid Khan, Rahul Sharma in a fusion avatar, and Ritesh and Rajnish Mishra.

For Ustad Rashid Khan, it was his first exposure through HCL, and he brought his young teenage son Armaan to sing too; his first time in Delhi.

His audience in Gurugram, where the venue was the unlikely sports stadium of the Shiv Nader School, people patiently stood in line for nearly two hours before the concert.

Unparalleled voice

The leading voice of the Rampur Sahaswan gharana today, Rashid Khan was in full form, accompanied by his grand entourage of accompanists – Pt Vijay Ghate on the tabla, Ustad Murad Ali Khan on sarangi, Dr Vinay Mishra on harmonium, and his two disciples and son Armaan giving vocal support. He started appropriately, according to the time theory of Hindustani music with Raga Puriya Dhanashri. (At his concert in Delhi the day earlier he had sung Raga Puriya). With his unparalleled voice easily soaring through the three octaves, the Ustad was in his element; his slow unfolding of the facets of the raga in the vilambit bandish dignified, drawing spontaneous appreciation when he moved into the mandra saptak. His son Armaan shows promise with his pleasant deep voice. Ustad Rashid Khan tends to use the same three or four percussionists for his concerts, Subhankar Banerji and Tanmoy Bose being other favourites; it is nice to hear different percussionists as each one brings out a different response. A welcome addition in this concert was his “laya khel” with Vijay Ghate. His stupendously fast taans were as usual completely stunning. The second khayal was the evergreen “payaliya jhanakaye”.

The second raga was Hansadhwani; “laagi lagan”. Again though short, the piece was completely satisfying. “Yaad piya ki aayi” is one of his favourites; but the Ustad was not allowed to conclude with this and, much to the delight of his audience sang his popular song (“Aaoge jab tum saajna”) from the film Jab We Met . His embellishments in this never veered towards the cheap and gimmicky, and deservedly he received a spontaneous standing ovation. Without doubt, his magnificent voice, coupled with extensive riyaaz and taalim make his concerts an unforgettable experience.

It should have been hard to break the mood established by the Ustad, but Vidwan Vikku Vinayakram is a master and in no time had his audience completely with him. On the drums was son Selva Ganesh, khanjira grandson Swaminathan, mridangam Neelamani Ramkrishnan, dhol Venkat Subramanyam, morsing Shri Ganeshan and Rajaraman on the somewhat rare gethu vadhyam (a string percussion instrument played with two bamboo sticks)

In Noida on Sunday, the musical magic created the day before was somewhat lacking; the Ustad’s Raga Aiman (Yaman) not quite as grand as he has been heard to sing it; though of course an artiste of his calibre can never disappoint. The lyrical “karam kar deejeeye” in his favourite Raga Des was not sung with his customary passion, though the audience was wholesome in their praise, with several bursts of spontaneous clapping. He ended the concert with Des.

Vidwan Vikku Vinayakram and his team were delightful as always; starting with the Shiv Tandava, (in Adi taal) because, as Selva Ganesh explained, all rhythm originates with Lord Shiva; the group then demonstrated seven and a half beats, in the process teaching the eager audience how to keep count. Next was “konnakol” by Selva, Neelamani and Swaminathan (reciting of the “bols” or sounds of the mridangam), followed by a solo of each of the artists. Selva Ganesh with his vast experience of performing in the US is adept at bringing in active audience participation.

The sound arrangements were impeccable as was the thoughtful provision of victuals; it is difficult to remain focused on music for over four hours.

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