Pandit Samar Saha’s organisation, Sangeet Piyasi, inspired by the ‘Sculptor of Talents’ such as Vijay Kichlu, took the lead to unearth and present prodigious talents on its prestigious stage for the last thirty-three years. This philanthropic organisation, dedicated to his guru, Krishna Kumar Ganguli (Natubabu), is very popular. due to its warm and informal ambience, carefully created by Saha. He originated a trend to recognise even the ‘unsung heroes’ of stagecraft, including audio technicians or instrument makers. This year his quick actions successfully saved his organisation from a face loss.

For example, in the absence of his two star musicians, Vidushi Malini Awasthi and Ayan Ali Khan, he presented his discovery-turned-star, Purab Anga Gayaki exponent Piu Mukherjee, and Prattyush Banerjee, an erudite and dexterous sarodia. It rained on the third day (30 November). He quickly shifted the open-air concert to a hall of Daga Nikunj, converting it into a Baithak. Banerjee admitted that he prefers the warm cosiness of such sit-ins to a huge, impersonal auditorium. And what a recital it was!

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Patadeep is a raga with a limited range, but he invented new vistas of elaboration, adhering to traditional paths. The jod began very gently, gradually increasing the cluster of phrases, speed, and power of strokes like a smoothly flowing river without any obstacles barring aesthetically unexpected jumps and whirlpool-like mukam-based chhandkari. The jhala was a colourful combination of different strokes and patterns. With the competent tabla of Tanmay Bose, his medium-paced rupak gatkari made the dignified skill show delightful. The composer in him was at his best. Drut teental taans of various patterns spread all over the three octaves. The jhala invited tabla to sawal-jawab and sath-sangat. The best part was its spontaneity.

This spontaneity was the hallmark of Pandit Sanju Sahai’s adroit tabla solo, steadily supported by the naghma of Pandit Dharmnath Mishra’s harmonium. The latter also aided Piu Mukherjee along with tabla wizard Pandit Kumar Bose.

However, this year the annual event was split into two parts and was held at two different venues. On 23 November, the night-long session at Uttam Mancha saw dignitaries like Justice Anindya Mitra (president of the organisation), Pandit Puran Maharaj (son-disciple of the legendary Kishan Maharaj), and well-wishers Alka Jalan and Sanjay Mitra. The melodic invocation song, set to raga Hamsadhwani, was presented by the students of Guru Madhumita Saha. The ‘Trio’ as a theme, the event commenced with a trio of performers hailing from three different districts: kathak dancer Sulagna Banerjee (Hooghly), vocalist Sanchita Mukherjee (raga Puria Kalyan, Bankura), and sitarist Purnendu Banerjee (Rageshri, Bardhaman).

The rest featured renowned musicians belonging to different gharanas; e.g., the tabla trio featured Indranil Mallick, Bivash Sanghai, and Shubhajyoti Guha (teental), supported by Hiranmay Mitra (harmonium), and a vocal trio having Shantanu Bhattacharya, Tushar Dutta, and Koushik Bhattacharya (raga Jaijaiwanti and a bhajan). They were ably supported by Subhen Chatterjee (tabla) and Rupashree Bhattacharya (harmonium). In the wee hours, slide guitar maestro Debashish Bhattacharya, sitar virtuoso Sugato Nag, and feted flautist Rupak Kulkarni improvised raga Bhatiyar and Bhairavi in the complementing company of tabla maestro Kumar Bose. Celeb kathak dancers Vishal Krishna, Madhumita Roy, and Shoubhik Chakraborty and their live accompanists brought the unique event to its culmination in style.

Veteran vocalist Vidushi Mandira Lahiri commenced the second evening at Daga Nikunj (29 November) with raga Patadeep, followed by a composition of her Guru, Chinmay Lahiri. Ably assisted by Kamalaksha Mukherjee’s harmonium and Amit Chatterjee’s tabla, she concluded with a Shabad. Veteran tabla maestro Sanjay Mukherjee’s solo rendition, aided by harmonium wizard Hiranmay Mitra, was a brilliant example of aesthetics in tabla-playing.

Usually after such an electrifying session, it becomes difficult to establish a delicate raga like Jog Kauns followed by a dessert-like Shivranjani dhun, but sitar maestro Kushal Das, superbly assisted by Bivash Sanghai’s anticipating tabla, achieved this feat with élan. Finally, ‘Kishalaya’ (1 December) showcased 12-16-year-old prodigies who won high ranks in the Guru Natu Ganguly Music Contest, 2024. They gave amazing recitals before receiving their awards and certificates.

Annual ritual

Alor Pathe Raga Dhwani offered its 12th annual ‘Gurupranam’ to gurus Prasun and Meera Banerjee on 9 November at Uttam Mancha. The highlight of the show included the beacon of the organisation, Shantanu Bhattacharyya. He offered his melodic tribute to Gurus through Raga MianMalhar, replete with three bandishes of Guru Prasunbabu and a tarana of Guruma Meera Banerjee. Tanmoy Bose (tabla) and Hiranmay Mitra (harmonium) were in accompaniment. Earlier Mitra provided steady naghma to Bose who rarely appears as a soloist! He nostalgically recalled how he was inspired by the two brothers of Meera Banerjee to learn tabla. He played the teental. The mellow sound of broad-faced Tablas was pleasantly open. Later he opted for a high-pitched tabla to facilitate tukra, rela, chakradar, etc., with commendable expertise but could do better with mnemonics that produce different aural effects to avoid monotony.

Giridih-based Kedia Brothers MorMuķut (sitar) and Manoj (sarod), Annapurna Devi’s worthy disciples, are renowned for their delightful duets. Proficient in tantrakari with emotional appeal, they presented a beautiful version of Chandranandan, a raga created by Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. Subhajyoti Guha’s equally dexterous tabla enhanced the aesthetic appeal of their music-making.

For a change, the concluding session, usually reserved for veterans, showcased the senior students of Aalor Pathe Raga Dhwani—Mitra, Soham, Tapasya, Tanuman, Debayan, and Chandra in vocals, accompanied by Swarnendu (sarod), Soumyajit (sitar), tabla players Sudhir and Anchit, Ritwik (Spanish guitar), and Siddhajit (slide guitar). Together they regaled the audience through songs set to ragas such as Lalit, Bhairav, Alahiya, Jaunpuri, Todi, etc., as well as raga- and harmony-based compositions in Hindi and Bengali with telling effect.

The evening commenced with an anthem song, “Aalo,” rendered by the entire group of Alor Pathe Raga Dhwani students. The audio clips of Guru Prasunbabu’s Puriyadhanasri and Guruma Meera Banerjee’s Darbari Kanada were played as the formal inauguration. Next came a series of new compositions like ‘Swar Symphony,’ ‘Laya Taal Matra Sur Palta Jatra,’ etc., performed by Tapasya, Soham, and Mitra (vocalists) with Anchit (tabla) and Subhasree (harmonium). Vocalists Nibedita Banerjee and Durba Bhattacharyya sang exquisite bandishes in ragas Bairagi and Lalit. Nibedita concluded with a Bhairavi thumri of Guruma Meera Banerjee in rupak tala. Tanmoy Bhattacharyya (tabla) and Hrisav Sarkar (harmonium) accompanied them.

The young ones

The Yuva Classical Music Conference, organised by Rajya Sangeet Academy (22-24 November) at Sisir Mancha, showcased a clutch of carefully chosen blossoming soloists and accompanists. A few, like Arijit Banerjee (pakhawaj, chautal), Amaan Hussain and Ruzan Ali Kalawant (sarangi duet, raga Malkauns), are pursuing dwindling instruments with indomitable grit. It glowed in their presentations. The same applies to Shounak Roy (sarod, raga Bihag), his co-artiste Anjishnu Mukherjee (tabla), and Shoubhik Sarkar (tabla solo). Vocalists Sagnik Sen (Bihag, dadra in Purab Anga Gayaki) and Shreya Chatterjee (Bhimpalasi, Pahadi dadra) were matured beyond their age. Such encouraging events are sure to help the misguided young ones to come back to their revered roots.

IMA’s at 5

Swarnali Pal, the founder-chairperson of the International Multispecialty Art’s School (IMA’S), is relentlessly trying to bring arts to the common man. Under her direction, IMA organised its fifth annual day at Satyajit Ray Auditorium (1 December) to pay homage and celebrate the 103rd birth anniversary of the late Guru Subinoy Roy. A dance drama based on Rabindranath Tagore, his life and works. “Tabo Premo-Sudha-Rase” was scripted by Krishna Dutta. It featured eminent dance gurus Jalsha Chandra, Sayanee Chawda, Puloma Sen, and Tushi Naskar and students. Led by Swarnali Pal, the students of IMA and a few guest artists took charge of the vocals. Finally, a violin ensemble based on raga Hansadhwani was presented by the students of Nanda Kishore Das.

The writer is a senior music critic