If you had hoped for a full-fledged Hindustani music concert, a quite reasonable expectation given the line up on stage on Saturday last at the Music Academy, you might have justifiably felt a little let down. But with jugalbandis and a host of other new-fangled forms of fusion music floating around, it calls for tempering hopes with some dose of realism. Your best bet is probably to keep an open mind.
In fact, in a very different sense, the dad and daughter duo of pandit Ajoy and Kaushiki Chakrabarty demonstrated such an attitude during their recital, held under the aegis of the National Centre for the Performing Arts.
Thus their opening composition was that of Gyanprakash Ghosh, Chakrabarti’s principal guru and delivered in Hamsadvani, associated principally with the southern Indian form of classical music. ‘Tera bhag jaga, man laga,’ ran the first line. They commenced and continued in alternative sequence for a time and then went on to sing simultaneously.
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Soon, Ajoy decided to stick another phrase to the original: ‘Harike charananume,’ and Kaushiki followed suit. Coinciding more or less with each new additional line, the sheer range of the respective voices became increasingly apparent. And, even before you realised, they had moved on to the next composition. This was a ‘Drut,’ which Ajoy compared to the famous song ‘vaataapi Ganapatim Bhajeham.’
The surprise was when young Kaushiki launched into the ‘varnam,’ in raag ‘Saurashtram’ composed by Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna. She then sang the famous ‘tillana,’ of the maestro, in ragam Kuntalavarali. One has heard Ajoy Chakrabarti’s renditions of innumerable kritis of Tyagaraja, Sadasiva Brahmendra and Balamuralikrishna himself.
Thumris in raag Pilu and raag Pahadi and a Meera Bhajan in Bhairvi concluded proceedings. Ajay Joglekar on the harmonium and Jogesh Samsi on the tabla had their own moments to display their virtuosity.
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