The 12th ITC Sangeet Sammelan, Kolkata began on Friday 19th November 2004. This year Mrs. Bharati Deveshwar, wife of ITC Chairman Mr. Y.C.Deveshwar, presented the coveted ITC Award to Pandit Kashinath Mukherjee, disciple of the late Ustad Vilayat Khan. Son of scholarly vocalist Shital Chandra Mukherjee and brother of renowned filmmaker Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Kashinath Mukherjee had also been close to such greats as Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Amir Khan. In his acceptance speech, while thanking the organizers, he said that he would have been happier if he could have played for this august gathering, but because of failing health, for several years he had been unable to do his riyaz. Recognition, though late in life, was indeed a great honour!

The evening began with a surbahar recital by Ustad Irshad Khan, second son of Ustad Imrat Khan Playing his grandfather’s instrument, he began with alap, jod and jhala in Raga Puriya Kalyan, and tried to emulate his grandfather’s famed style. Equally proficient on the sitar, Ustad Irshad Khan then took up his own instrument, presenting two gats in Raga Jaijaiwanti. The first was a jhaptala gat in madhyalaya and the concluding item was a teentala gat in drut laya. Pandit Sanjoy Mukherjee provided excellent tabla support.

Mashkoor Ali Khan ITC SRA’s Guru of the Kirana gharana, was the next artiste. Beginning with khayals in Raga Shuddha Kalyan, he sang “Karam karo dayal kripal”, in vilambit jhoomra tala, and followed it with the famous “Mandar bajore” in drut teentala. Turning to Raga Bihag, he first sang “Chinta na karo” in jhaptala madhyalaya, followed by “Adakchhab dekhi kanha” in drut teentala, and finally a tarana “Na dere dere ta derena”. He concluded his recital with two teentala bandishes in Raga Khamaj, first the familiar “Koyeliya kook sunare”and then “Rang rangeeli raseeli”. He was accompanied by Samar Saha on the tabla and Jyoti Goho on the harmonium. Vocal support was provided by SRA scholar Sandeep Bhattacharya and general class student Sounak Chatterjee.

A sarangi recital by Ustad Sultan Khan was the last item of the evening. Grandson of Ustad Azim Khan and son of Ustad Gulab Khan, both celebrated in India as sarangi players and vocalists, the Ustad began with Raga Jog, presenting a sensitive alap, a gat in vilambit teentala based on the popular bandish “Sajan more ghar ayo” and a drut gat based on the drut ektala bandish “Ghari pala chhin” . He then played and sang “ Dekh ni de mai ko chhab nari”, a bandish in Raga Sehera, which he had earlier composed on request, based on Mehdi Hasan’s ghazal “Jane de saiyan”. Turning to folk music from Rajasthan, he sang “Khush nawa hawa”, a ‘bayeria’, meaning ‘pleasant wind’. The dhun based on the original folk tune was in dadra tala. He decided to conclude his recital with a lullaby “Soja re”, which too he first sang and then played. A line from his popular “Piya basanti” was his way of bidding farewell.

The second day’s programme began with a vocal recital by ITC-SRA scholar Arshad Ali Khan, grandson of the sarangi maestro Padmashree Ustad Shakoor Khan. Being trained by his maternal uncle Ustad Mashkoor Ali Khan, Guru at the Academy, as a child Arshad had been given the title of "Nanhe Ustad". Now 20 years old, Arshad also learns from Mashkoor Ali’s younger brother, Mubarak Ali Khan. As anticipated by stalwarts of the gharana, Arshad’s presentation of Raga Marwa demonstrated a level of maturity far beyond his years. Beginning with "Piya more aa" in vilambit jhoomra tala, Arshad concluded his recital with the drut teentala bandish "Kahu ki reet kahu kare". Ustad Gopal Mishra accompanied him on the tabla while Rupashree Bhattacharya provided harmonium support.

The next artiste was sarodiya Pandit Basant Kabra, son of the late Shri Damodarlal Kabra and nephew of Pandit Brij Bhushan Kabra, the famous guitar player. He began with alap, jod, jhala and gats in teentala madhyalaya as well as drut teentala in Raga Shree. A disciple of the famed Smt. Annapoorna Devi, daughter of Ustad Allauddin Khan, the artiste lived up to the expectations of the audience. He concluded with a gat in raga Manjh Khamaj set to rupak tala. Shubhankar Banerjee provided appealing tabla support.

A book on Ustad Amir Khan, entitled "Sangeet ke dedipyaman surya,Ustad Amir Khan", written by Tejpal Singh and Prerna Arora, was then released by Shri Amit Mukerjee, Executive Director, ITC-SRA.

Vedic scholar and direct descendant of Jagatguru Vallabhacharya of the Vallabh Sampradaya, Gokul Utsav Maharajji was the next artiste. An accomplished pakhawaj player and a prolific composer using the pseudonym "Madhur Piya", the artiste presented Raga Bageshree. Beginning with the vilambit khayal "Bahuguna kamana" set to jhoomra tala, he then sang "Apne garaja pakar leenhee baiyan", originally a dhrupad composition of Krishnadas of the Vallabh Sampradaya, which he presented as a khayal in ektala, madhyalaya. He then sang a tarana in drut teentala. Turning to Raga Kedar, he sang the popular "Sughar chatur baiyan tum" in ektala, madhyalaya. After that he presented a drut ektala bandish "Humso mun tumi sang lago", followed by a tarana in Raga Hamsadhwani. His final item was a Ragamala in teentala "Jis desh mein bahat jal gang".

The concluding artiste of the evening was internationally acclaimed flautist Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia. Disciple of Smt. Annapoorna Devi, he presented alap, jod, jhala and gats in Raga Malkauns. The first gat was set to matta tala, madhyalaya, and the second a drut gat set to teentala. His ever-popular Pahadi dhun set to dadra tala was the concluding item of the evening.

The 3rd day’s programme began with ‘Drums of India’, a composite percussion ensemble led by Mallar Ghosh, son of famed musician and erstwhile member of the Expert Committee of ITC-SRA, late Pandit Jnan Prakash Ghosh. The ensemble comprised Anirban Bhattacharjee (vocal), Nirmalya Dey (flute), Siddheshwar Bhowmick (harmonium), Gopal Burman (sreekhole), Somnath Roy (ghatam & khanjeera), Bablu Biswas (dholak, bangla dhol & pakhawaj), Ranjeev Biswas (tabla), Kaustav Bhattacharya (tabla) & Mallar Ghosh (tabla). They began with "Srishti", a composition that initialy-featured solos using chakradhars and tukdas from the repertoires of such greats as Masid Khan, Ahmed Jan Tirakwa, Kanthe Maharaj and Jnan Prakash Ghosh. The tabla and ghatam, pakhawaj, khole, bangla dhol and khanjeera each played their valuable part in the final ‘sawal-jawab’portion. The second item "Lokchhando", concentrated on folk elements and featured the flute, nakara and dholak. Pandit Jnan Prakash Ghosh’s composition used by the All India Radio as a signature tune for its programme ‘Ramyagiti’ was also played. The final item was "Pranaam", a fitting finale to this ode to percussion.

The second artiste was ITC-SRA’s Guru of the Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana, Shrimati Shruti Sadolikar-Katkar. She is the daughter and disciple of Pandit Waman Rao Sadolikar, himself a direct disciple of the founder of this gharana, Ustad Alladiya Khan, as well as his son Ustad Bhurji Khan. Shrutiji has also received extensive training from Ustad Gulubhai Jasdanwala and is continuing her talim under Ustad Bhurji Khan’s son, Ustad Azizuddin Khan. She began her much-appreciated recital with "Aaye rajan", a vilambit teentala bandish in Raga Gauri, followed by the drut teentala "Dar dilanda phagawar". This was followed by the popular vilambit teentala bandish in Raga Marubihag "Rasiya aaona"and drut teentala "Pari mori nao" where she ably demonstrated her artistry. She then presented a thumri in Mishra Khamaj "Dil deke mujhe badnaam kiya" set to deepchandi tala. She concluded with the Meera bhajan "Sakhi mharo kanhoro kaleji ke kor". She was able accompanied by Pandit Anando Gopal Bandopadhyaya on the tabla and Rupashree Bhattacharya on the harmonium.

Veteran violinist Pandit D.K.Datar, nephew of Pandit D.V.Paluskar, was the next artiste. A recipient of the Sangeet Natak Academy award, Pandit Datar plays in the gayakee anga. He began with Raga Shuddha Kalyan, presenting a short introductory alap followed by gats in vilambit ektala, and two in drut teentala. He then played a drut teentala gat in Raga Madhukauns and finally presented a dadra in Raga Mishra Khamaj. Accompanying him on the violin was Ratnakar Gokhale and on the tabla was Abhijeet Banerjee.

The concluding item was a vocal recital by Pandit Rajan Mishra and Pandit Sajan Mishra of the Benaras Gharana. Trained by their father Pandit Hanuman Prasad Mishra, uncle late Pandit Gopal Mishra famed for his sarangi and their grandfather Pandit Bade Ram Das Ji Mishra, the brothers began with Raga Chandrakauns in the Bageshree anga. Their vilambit ektala bandish "Paar karo mori nao" was followed by the drut ektala "Dheere dharao kaise". Turning to Raga Malkauns, they sang the madhyalaya teentala bandish "Ya rabba meri beri" and a tarana in drut ektala. It was almost midnight when over 2000 people went home with a bhajan in Raga Bhairavi ringing in their ears.