Within two decades, Paramparik has grown from strength to strength in the fields of classical music and rural education. This entails careful handling of multiple issues in rural India’s social structure. Organising an annual conference of classical music involving celebrity classical artists is not a cakewalk either. But Ruchira Panda, a vocalist of repute and the beacon of this organisation, handles all this with commendable competence. The 20th annual conference, held at GD Birla Sabhagar on November 26, added another chapter of success to Paramparik’s uphill journey.

The young and multi-talented Kathak danseuse Saberi Mishra commenced the day-long soiree with her unique style of presentation, wherein the dancer, narrator, singer, and bol-padhant artiste- all are rolled into one. She sang a shloka extolling Lord Vishnu while expressing its import with graceful movements. Aided by Subir Thakur’s impressive tabla and Chandrachud Bhattacharya’s melodious sitar, she showcased a brilliant teental with crystal clear footwork. Her self-composed piece encapsulated the complexities of Jaipur gharana. Fond of ‘Devi-bhaav’ which tells the story of a gentle lady picking up a spear to kill the enemy, she enacted it superbly after Radha-Krishna Bhaav. She also danced on dhamar and a nine-beat sawari tala as effortlessly as the abhinaya, based on a soulful bhajan, and closed with tantalising tatkar. Everyone wondered how she managed to breathe while singing and dancing simultaneously. When asked, she, very sportingly, shared the secret of her technique.

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The finale of the event created a regal ambience of yore as celeb Rudraveena maestro Bahauddin Dagar and his competent associate Pakhawaj virtuoso Sukhad Munde began to tune their respective instruments. Puria Kalyan was the chosen raga, which displays two worlds around Komal Rishabh and Shuddh Dhaivat, conjoined by Teevra Madhyam. The meditative slow alap by the master compelled one to vacillate between them till Sanchari’s arrival. After the skilful jod, the chautal composition brightened up with the deep, reverberating sound of pakhawaj by its side. Later, an entirely different, sweet persona of Abhogi created pangs of separation as if to announce good-bye till we meet again.

Omkar Dadarkar is a name to reckon with in the arena of khayal, natya-sangeet, and bhajan singing. He is a wonderful composer, too. This innovative trait adds interesting hues to his khayal renditions. The auchar of Chhayanat, his chosen raga, was enough to prove this. Clarity of thought, aided by beautifully crafted meends and bends, established the raagroop within minutes. A traditional bandish ‘Sugreev Raamkripa chahat daya’ gave scope to elaborate the raga with fineries. It included the key phrase RR GG MM P-R. The last two notes, joined by a long meend created a unique combination of the smooth flow of a river over small pebbles. Gourab Chatterjee’s dexterous harmonium very intelligently emulated all. Bivash Sanghai’s sensitive tabla helped them by remaining unobtrusive, but during behlawa, they responded gleefully to rhythmic patterns. After heavy gamak taans, fine-grained fast taans adorned the drut teental bandish and tarana. A majestic Shahana followed next with two compositions set to jhaptal and ektal.

Earlier, veteran sarod maestro Basant Kabra began by playing hide and seek with Multani but soon established the aura of the raga in the lower octave. However, Alap’s faster pace gave it a lighter character, although the intrinsic pathos was palpable around Teevra Madhyam and Komal Rishabh. The jod had powerful bolkari but minimal rhythm play. The staggering beginning of slow teental gat forced Parimal Chakraborty to keep the tabla uthaan as short as possible but played brilliant solo rounds in between the gatkaris with delighting bolkari and sharp ekhara taans. As usual, the fast jhala was unmusical, but the beautiful Zilla Kafi dhun, set to sitarkhani, compensated richly.

At Forty two

Rhythm, a well-known music organisation in south Kolkata, dedicated its 42nd annual programme of classical music to the fond memory of Pandit Vijay Kichlu and Pandit Subhankar Banerjee at the Triguna Sen auditorium. The grand finale of the evening was a sitar—sarod jugalbandi—by the celebrated Kedia Brothers (Mor Mukut and Manoj). As was expected, the duo, belonging to Maihar Gharana, gifted a memorable exposition of Raga Kirwani. Assisted by tabla virtuoso Amit Chatterjee, they infused their chosen two teental gats with delighting taans and layakari in vilambit and drut laya.

The event opened with a tabla ensemble presented by fifteen very young students of Rhythm under the direction of Pandit Sujit Saha, a renowned tabla player (Farukhabad Gharana). Later, he played solo, accompanied by Sanatan Goswami’s harmonium. The teental, presented by Saha, was studded with some self-composed and some traditional compositions displaying kaida, manjhedar gat, farmaishi chakradar, etc. with superb dexterity. So was the vocal rendition by Dipankar Roy, a disciple of Pandit Arun Bhaduri. His interpretation of Raga Bihag, showcasing his own compositions, was enjoyable. He closed with a Kabir bhajan.

In Fond Memory

Payel Chakraborty Dance Academy, under the dynamic direction of Rudra Prasad Roy, offered its 8th annual Shraddhanjai to his wife Payel on her birthday on 17th November at Gyan Mancha.

Roy is a powerful exponent of Indian contemporary dance styles based on Uday Shankar’s style and Marga Natya. A dedicated and tireless teacher, he grooms his students to perfection. This was apparent during this brilliantly sparkling performance of how that started with “Ganesh Vandana’. It also showcased a colourful version of Jago Maa”, sung by Arijit Singh, attributed to Goddess Jagaddhatri. It is believed that she frees her devotees from ego, sorrow, and all other materialistic desires. ‘ Items like Kashful mon’, ‘Ghar More Pardesiya’, and ‘Jol Chhobi’ evoked nostalgia.

Later, Rudra felicitated the distinguished guests Nandini Sinha, Rajdeep Banerjee, Rina Jana, and Sandipan Mandal.

As an invited organisation, Nadasutra, New Delhi, stood out for its grandeur of primordial days. Guided by Akash Mullick, the first disciple of Marg-Natya Guru Piyal Bhattacharya, the group of dancers (Akash, Pinki, Sritama, and Smita) presented Aasarit Vardhaman Vidhi and Naishadi Kapalgeeti of Natyashastra, researched, recreated, and taught by their Guru. Over the years, both items have become much more polished.

Coming Up

‘Echoes from Maihar’ is a unique concept that brings eminent torchbearers of only Maihar Gharana on one platform during a day-long soiree. Kuhak (Alipore) presents this ‘never before in the history of Kolkata’s classical concerts’ under the direction of Sitar Maestro Partha Bose. He dedicates this as a musical tribute to the fond memory of Pandit Monoj Shankar, his Guru ji, who initiated him to Maihar Gharana and gave him an identity.

As is known, Baba Alauddin Khan was a court musician for the Maihar rulers. It is here that he groomed such legends as Sarod maestro Ali Akbar Khan (son), sitar wizard Ravi Shankar, Surbahar virtuoso Annapurna Devi, flautist Pannalal Ghosh, violinist VG Jog, and a host of others. Under one roof in Maihar, all the stalwarts learnt diversely different instruments under Baba’s guidance, and later their musicality bloomed according to their individual personalities.

The itinerary of this daylong soiree is inspired by this fact. It therefore includes diverse instruments such as sarod, flute, sitar, and guitar, all echoing the Maihar style.

Inaugurated by Ustad Ashish Khan, the Khalifa of Maihar Gharana, the line-up includes Shiraz Ali Khan, Shubhendra Rao, Vishwamohan Bhatt-Salil Bhatt, Ronu Majumdar, the Kedia Brothers (Mukut and Manoj), and Partha Bose. The celebrated tabla accompanists are Sanjay Mukherjee, Sabir Khan, Abhijit Banerjee, Arup Chatterjee, Parimal Chakraborty, and several others.

This specific ‘gharana-oriented’ event is scheduled to be held at Gyan Manch on 31st December.

The writer is a senior music critic.