ITC Mini Sangeet Sammelan - Raipur Rhapsody, 2005

Music lovers of Chhattisgarh eagerly look forward to the Sangeet Sammelan sponsored by ITC, which has over the years become quite a regular feature here. Organized by the Department of Culture, with the support of the ITC Sangeet Research Academy, this year's programme was held on December 17 and 18, 2005, at the Government Medical College auditorium. Inaugurated by the Governor K.M.Seth, the presence of a host of dignitaries made the occasion indeed memorable. Among those in attendance were First Lady Veena Seth, Minister of Culture, Brij Mohan Agarwal, and Minister for Higher Education Ajay Chandrakar. Raipur Mayor Sunil Soni, Principal Secretary Culture, T. Radhakrishnan and Commissioner Pradeep Pant also took time off to attend the concerts.

The musical sessions began with the melodious strains of Anupama Bhagwat's sitar which cast a spell on the audience. A disciple of Pandit Bimalendu Mukherjee, a doyen of the famous Imdadkhani Gharana, the artiste began with alap, jod, vilambit gat, drut gat and jhala in Raga Puriya Kalyan. She concluded with a teentala gat in madhyalaya in Raga Kafi. The innovative tabla accompaniment by Ananda Gopal Bandopadhyay added another dimension to the proceedings. The next artiste was Shrimati Poornima Sen, vocalist of the Agra-Atrauli gharana, which is known for its strength and vitality. She began with the vilambit ektala bandish 'Ema dhan dhanri' in Raga Bihag, following it up with the popular 'Lata uljhi suljha ja b ālam' in teentala. Turning to Raga Jaijawanti, she presented the teentala bandishes 'Nādān ankhiyan lāgi' and 'Nindiya nāch gāyo raja'. Her concluding item was a teentala bandishi thumri in Raga Khamaj 'Ali dukhi'. Jyoti Goho accompanied her on the harmon ium while Gopal Mishra played the tabla.

On Sunday morning, Purnimaji conducted a workshop. Introducing her, Shri Gunvant Vyas gave us a lot of related information, after which she began with the āroha, avaroha and pakad of Raga Alhaiya Bilawal. She presented two varieties of chalan in the avaroha and after a short ālāp, she presented teentāla bandishes 'Jāt ginata ghadiya mohe', 'Kaba ghara āye', 'Jārey mitwa itana sandesawa'. The next presentation was the rare Raga Kukubh Bilawal. Explaining that the madhyam is strong and shades of Raga Jaijaiwanti are seen in this Raga, she sang 'Tero rang rup jab dekhat' and 'Jiya sukh pāt nisadin'. Turning to Raga Bhimpalasi, she presented Faiyaz Khan Sahab's popular 'Biraj mein dhum machawata shyam' in teentāla. She concluded the session with Raga Jog, presenting the oft-heard 'Sājan more ghar āye'.

The evening's programme began with a sarod recital by ITC-SRA scholar Abir Hossain. He presented ālāp, jod, vilambit and drut teentāla gat and jhala in Raga Puriya Dhanashri. Gopal Mishra accompanied him on the tabla. His recital was followed by a brilliant performance by Ustad Rashid Khan. He began with the vilambit ektāla bandish in Raga Jog 'Piharwa ko birma', after which he sang the drut teentāla 'Sājan more ghar ā'. His stunning teentāla khayal 'Dekh bekh mana lalachāye' in Raga Sohini proved to be a wonderful conclusion for the expectant audience who heartily appreciated Ananda Gopal Bandopadhyay's tabla and Jyoti Goho's harmonium accompaniment.