It is said that in 1918 Ustad Allaudin Khan moved to Maihar at the invitation of the ruler, and served there as the chief court musician till his last days. Here, he laid the foundation for the Maihar gharana, and trained several disciples including Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Pt. Ravi Shankar, Annapurna Devi, Pt. Pannalal Ghosh, Sharan Rani, Ustad Bahadur Khan, and Ustad Aashish Khan. Even today, the sombre statue of Allaudin Khan at a prominent roundabout reminds one of why Maihar is on the cultural map.
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The Madhya Pradesh Department of Culture, in association with Ustad Allaudin Khan Sangeet Academy (incidentally the Kala Academy was renamed Ustad Allaudin Khan Sangeet Evam Kala Akademy) has been organising the Allaudin Khan Sangeet Samaroh, an annual festival of music and dance, in Maihar. As this year marks the centenary year of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, son of Ustad Allaudin Khan, the festival was dedicated to him as well as to Pt. Birju Maharaj.
It was inspiring to note the resonance the classical arts seem to have in remote places, as the three-day festival (March 11-13) saw a huge turnout from neighbouring areas including Satna, Rewa, and Gwalior. Held in an open space, the event featured a series of concerts that began at 8 p.m., went on till late in the night, with the last concert ending at around 4 a.m.
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Kalpana Zokarkar | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
An unusual fare
The highlight was the performance by the Ustad Ali Akbar Khan Instrumental Band from Kolkata comprising his grandson sarodist Shiraz Ali, and his son Aashish Khan’s students, Atish Mukhopadhyay and Diptonil Bhattacharya (sarod) and Dishari Chakravorty (santoor). The music team also had Mainak Biswas (pakhawaj), Rupak Mukherji, (flute), Arindam Bhattacharya (vocal), Vachaspati Chakravorty (bass guitar), and Anubrata Chatterji (tabla). They played Ustad Ali Akbar Khan’s compositions, highlighting the maestro’s incredible versatility and creativity.
The festival also included performances by artistes from Madhya Pradesh. Indore-born vocalist Hemangi Bhagat Nene, of the Jaipur Atrauli gharana, rendered raag Bhupali, then a thumri. Hemangi, now based in Hyderabad, is gifted with a clear and soaring voice that reaches the higher octaves without any obvious strain.
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Indore-based artiste Kalpana Zokarkar enthralled the audience with her stunning and unpredictable ‘taan’ patterns in raag Jog Kauns. She must have learnt these patterns from her father, a student of Ustad Rajab Ali Khan, who was known for his innovative and entirely novel ‘taans’. Kalpana followed it up with an unusual tappa in raag Khamach, concluding her impressive rendition with a Hori.
Shiraz Ali Khan with Anubrata Chatterji | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Vaidehi and Shaili Dwivedi, the sisters from Rewa, chose to sing raag Nand for the occasion. One felt that the duo needs to hone their skills more before taking to the stage. The festival featured Maihar sarodist Himanshu Sen, who played raag Durga. His adherence to the challan of his gharana (Maihar) was creditable.
Senior Indore-based vocalist Pt. Gokulotsav Maharaj was at his creative best. He chose Kafi Kanhra as his main raag, and rendered two Horis, quite appropriate to the season. A teacher and prolific composer (his pen name is Madhurpiya), he presented yet another Hori, composed by his grandson Umang, and concluded his line-up with a pleasing composition on ritu basant (the season spring), in raag Basant.
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The three-day event also featured dance performances by senior artistes and their students. A Kathakali-Bharatanatyam fusion by Pallippuram Sunil and his wife Paris Laxmi was showcased on day one. The performance by Bharatanatyam dancer Geeta Chandran and her students on the second day was a well-conceived and slickly choreographed presentation to recorded music. Particularly impressive was the piece titled ‘Rasa’, which skilfully combined Bharatanatyam jatis with Krishna’s raasleela in Brajabhumi.
The third performance was by Banaras-based kathak dancer and scholar Vidhi Nagar and her team. Again performed to recorded music, the presentation was a mix of innovation and tradition, including the depiction of Holi and a ‘tirvat’.
Financial logistics necessitate dancers to perform to recorded music; this is a disturbing trend. Live accompaniment leads to better expression.
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In the traditional style
The focus of the festival was on the instrumentalists belonging to the Maihar gharana — Pt. Vishwamohan Bhatt and his son Salil; Pt. Ronu Mazumdar and his disciple Kalpesh; and Purbayan Chatterji. But the piece de resistance was by Jodhpur-based sarodist Basant Kabra, the chief disciple of Annapurna Devi. His masterly rendition of raag Malkauns was overwhelming, played in the traditional and uncompromising dhrupad style. His aalap jor jhala was superb, and the drut teen taal bandish that he played was his own composition. He ended with an arresting rendition of Zila Kafi, the traditional drut bandish by Baba Allaudin Khan. Anubrata Chatterji’s tabla accompaniment was pleasing.
The Delhi-based author writes on classical music and musicians.