5th ITC Sangeet Sammelan, Hyderabad : 2007
Tribute to a Legend - Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan

The 5th ITC Sangeet Sammelan, Hyderabad was a treat for the surprisingly large audience. Organised as a tribute to the legendary Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, who spent a substantial part of his time adding greatly to the glory of this historical city and enhancing its tradition of music and art, the two-day event on 2nd and 3rd November 2007, was held at Ravindra Bharathi Auditorium Saifabad, Hyderabad.

The Sammelan was inaugurated by Mr A V Anil Kumar, DM, South, ITC Ltd. The Chief Guest was Pandit Govindrao Dantale who was felicitated. The following day Pandit M. R. Gautam’s presence was similarly acknowledged.

The first day’s concert began with a vocal recital by Shrimati Vijaya Jadhav Gatlewar. As an ITC SRA Scholar, she underwent a rigorous training routine for 15 years under the able guidance of her Guru, Pandit Nivruttibua Sarnaik. She began her concert with khayals in Raga Poorva, “Soona lage aaj” vilambit teentala and “Aaja more ghar aaa” drut teen tala. She concluded her concert with a khayal in Raga Shankara. She was supported on the harmonium by Jyoti Goho while on the tabla was Ananda Gopal Bandopadhyay, both senior faculty members of ITC SRA.

The second performance of the evening was a sitar recital by Pandit Debu Choudhuri, an exponent of the Senia Gharana. His son Prateek Choudhuri accompanied him on the sitar, while Vijay Ghate supported them on the tabla. The performance began with a brief alap and jod in Rag Bhagyasree, followed by gats and jhala. The programme ended with a sitar representation of the traditional bhajan “Jab Janakinath Sahay”

The second day’s concert began with ITC SRA Guru Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar’s vocal recital. He began his concert with khayals in Raga Marwa, “Beet gayi rain” vilambit ektala and “O guni jana mela gao baja” drut ek tala. He concluded his concert with khayals in Raga Kamod, “Maan re more baat na” vilambit tilwada and “Kare janena doongi” drut teentala. He was supported by Jyoti Goho on the harmonium and Ananda Gopal Bandopadhyay on the tabla.

The festival concluded with a Mohan Veena recital by Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt. He began with alap, jod and jhala, followed by a vilambit teentala gat in Raga Maru Bihag. He concluded with a dhun based on “Saiyan o morey saiyan” which he sang as well.