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ITC Sangeet Sammelan - Delhi 2008
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The 36th ITC Sangeet Sammelan, Delhi, was
held on 8th and 9th March 2008 at Kamani auditorium. This
year it was organised as a tribute to Sangeet Martand Ustad
Chand Khan, who was khalifa of the Delhi gharana. On the
inaugural evening, the guest of honour Shrimati Gursharan
Kaur, wife of the Prime Minister of India, presented the
prestigious ITC Award to Padma Vibhushan Pandit Jasraj, the
living legend of the Mewati Gharana. Speaking on the
occasion, Pandit Jasraj hailed ITC-SRA as a temple of music.
Executive Director, ITC-SRA Dr Vidyadhar Vyas and Shri Anil
Rajput, Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs, ITC Ltd
reiterated the aims of the Academy namely preservation,
promotion and performance of Indian Classical Music.
The festival began with the vocal recital of Shrimati
Shubhra Guha, ex-scholar of the Academy who had also been a
Guru for about a decade. One of the leading female artistes
of Agra Gharana, she began her recital with khayals in Raga
Shuddha Kalyan ‘Ali mohe manavan ayo’ in Vilambit Ektala and
‘Bajo re bajo’ in Drut Teentala. |
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This was followed by a Thumri in Raga Pilu
‘Ankhiyaan dhoondh rahin’ expressing the pangs of separation of
a pining Virahini nayika. The distinct flavour of Poorab Ang was
also evident in the concluding Hori ‘Pichkari na maro Nandlala’
that she sang in the typical Dadra style, in Raga Khamaj. The
concluding Laggi on the Tabla by Sudhir Pande and the excellent
support of Jyoti Guho on the Harmonium added charm to the
recital.
The concluding artiste was ITC-SRA Guru Pandit Manilal Nag who
belongs to the fifth generation of the famed Nag family of
instrumentalists from the Vishnupur Gharana of Bengal. His
serene alap, jod and jhala in Raga Kaunsi Kanhada, followed by a
slow and a medium tempo composition in Teentala were a treat for
discerning listeners. Pandit Anand Gopal Bandopadhyay ably
accompanied him on the Tabla.
It has become customary to feature a morning session of Carnatic
music as part of the Sammelan. This year the morning program
commenced with a veena recital by Sri. Rajhesh Vaidhya, a
disciple of Smt. Jayalakshmi, Smt. Rama Nambinarayanan and Sri.
Chitti Babu. Accompanying him were Lalgudi Sri. Ganesh and Sri.
K.N. Mohanaraman on the mridangam, Sri. K.N. Subramaniam on the
ghatam and Sri. Chandrajith on the tabla. The first item to be
presented was a composition of Sri. Balamuralikrishna in
Gambhiranattai Raga set to Adi tala, marked by rhythmic
virtuosity, clarity and speed of rendition. Next to be featured
was Muttuswami Dikshitar’s “Vatapi ganapatim” in Hamsadhwani
Raga, Adi tala with a few rounds of swarakalpana. Sri. Vaidhya
played a brief Raga alapana of Simhendramadhyamam as a preface
to Dikshitar’s “Kamakshi” in Roopaka tala. The artist’s natural
inclination towards experimenting with fusion was revealed by
“jod jhala” effects incorporated by way of extension to
swarakalpana for this composition. Delightful melodic
permutation, cross-rhythmic variation and “sawaal jawaab”
interplay was very much in evidence in the Desh Raga composition
set to Khanda Chapu tala. This was followed by a racy rendition
of Patnam Subramaniam Iyer’s “Raghuvamsa” in Katanakutuhala Raga
in Adi tala. The Ragam tanam pallavi in Kapi raga was
technically a tour de force. Particularly noteworthy was the
inclusion of Ragamalika in alapana and tanam segments,
“konnakkole” (vocalization of rhythmic syllables), “sawaal
jawaab”, the playing of chords, harmonic effects, srotovoha yati
patterns and seamless co-ordination with the accompanists. A
truly innovative effort! The artist played “Muralidhara” in
Misra Mand and “Chandrasekhara” in Sindhubhairavi to conclude
his program.
The second session featured a vocal duet by the Malladi
brothers, Sreerama Prasad and Ravi Kumar, who trained initially
with their father Malladi Sri. Suri Babu and then imbibed the
finer nuances from Sangita Kalanidhi Sri. Nedunuri Krishnamurthy
and Padma Bhushan Sri. Sripada Pinakapani. Malladi brothers were
accompanied on the violin by Sri V Raghavaendrarao and on the
mridangam by Sri N S Kalyanaraman. Their recital commenced with
“Sripathe”, a kriti of Tyagaraja set to Nagasvarali Raga in Adi
tala, for which the brothers rendered a few avartanas of brisk
swarakalpana. This was followed by a sedate rendition of “Shyamasundaranga”,
also composed by Tyagaraja, in Dhanyasi Raga and Roopaka tala.
The next item presented by the brothers was Muttuswami
Dikshitar’s “Annapoorne visalakshi” in Sama raga and Adi tala.
The evocative Kharaharapriya Raga alapana that followed was a
prelude to Tyagaraja’s “Prakkala nilabadi” in Misra Chapu tala.
The brothers chose the phrase “Manasuna talaci maimaraci yunnara”
from this composition for extended melodic improvisation (niraval
and swarakalpana) and tani avartanam (rhythmic interlude) on the
mridangam. The latter part of the concert featured spirited
renditions of Annamacharya’s “Aakativelala” in Revati and “Adi
deva paramatma” in Sindhubairavi, Papanasam Sivan’s “Kumaran
taal” in Yadukulakamboji and “Rama jogi” of Bhadrachala Ramdas
in Khamas. Malladi brothers concluded their recital with the
Mangala sloka “Sriyah kaantaaya kalyaana nidhaye” in
Madhyamavati Raga.
The evening’s performance began with the vocal recital of Ustad
Mashkoor Ali Khan of the Kirana Gharana whose association with
ITC-SRA has been both as a scholar and now as a Guru. He began
with khayals in Raga Puriya Dhanashri ‘Bal bal jaun’ in Vilambit
Jhoomra tala, ‘Avan kaha gayo’ in Teentala and ‘Aaj more ghar
kaj madilra’in Drut Ektala. He then presented a Rubai in Raga
Kamod in Jhaptala, followed by a tarana in Drut Ektala. This was
followed by Khayals in Raga Khamaj ‘Kab ghar ayo’ in Vilambit
Ektala and ‘Koyalia kook sunaaye’ and ‘Nayo naar nayo rang dhang
chhal bal so’in Teentala . Jyoti Goho on Harmonium and Nisar
Ahmad on tabla provided excellent support.
This was followed by Pandit D.K. Datar’s violin recital.
Belonging to the chaste tradition of the legendary Vishnu
Digambar Paluskar, his performance had a vintage flavour.
Playing in the gayakee ang, he began with a detailed exposition
of Raga Bihag with a Vilambit Teentala, a Drut Ektal and the
popular Teentala composition ‘Lat urajhi sulajha ja’. He then
played the famous Bandish of Tilak-Kamod ‘Koyalia bole amavan
dar par’. Pandit Anand Gopal Bandopadhyay gave him understanding
support on the Tabla while his disciple Rajan Mashalkar ably
assisted him on the Violin.
Padmabhushan Girija Devi, presently a Guru at the Academy,
provided the finale, receiving an overwhelming response. She
opened her vocal recital with khayals in Raga Jog in Vilambit
Ektala and Teentala. This was followed by the Hori ‘Kaisi ye
dhoom machayi’ in Raga Kafi and ‘Anokhe khiladi hori khelahu na
jane’ in Raga Khamaj. She concluded her vocal recital with a
Bhajan in Raga Bhairavi. Jyoti Guho gave her inspiring support
on the harmonium, Sudhir Pande on the Tabla, Kamal Sabri on the
Sarangi while two of her disciples Piyali and Rupan Sarcar
provided vocal support.
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