Tabla wizard ustad Zakir Hussain (9 March 1951–15 December 2024) left for his eternal journey at a time when he was supposed to be in Kolkata as a much awaited participant in the Swara Samrat Music Festival. The world of art lovers, film lovers, even tea lovers, is shell shocked by this sudden bolt from the blue.

Born to tabla maestro Allarakha Khan, he grew up in a modest Mahim area mostly inhabited by musicians, was educated in a public school, and joined St Xavier’s College. Apart from his formal education, he started his stage appearance as a seven-year-old at the prestigious Sawai Gandharva Sangeet Sammelan in Pune.

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SRA’s founder director, Pandit Vijay Kichlu, spotted this bright gem. When the idea of organising pan-Indian classical concerts, ‘Music on Wheels’, crystallised, Kichlu requested him to join the group to collaborate with top musicians like Shivkumar Sharma. VG Jog, A Kanan, and several others. The musicians mapped the length and breadth of the subcontinent to promote classical music.

It was Pandit Ravi Shankar who gave Zakir the real break on the international circuits. By the dint of his sheer talent and terrific hard work, he won the status of one of the most versatile tabla players and shaped him into the most sought-after Hindustani musician. His acting in films and a commercial clip to promote tea brought him to every Indian’s living room, and he became a household name. An impressive orator, suave, good-looking, humble and a witty performer, he made the best of the limelight but always remained concerned about the talented gen-next and wished them well very sincerely. Such humane artists are counted as rare species today. This universal loss is irreparable.

Prestigious soirée

The coveted ITC Samman 2024 once again established its credibility by honouring Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar, the unanimously respected ‘Musician of musicians.’ The heartwarming ceremony was held in the presence of all the Gurus of ITC Sangeet Research Academy on the inaugural day of ITC SRA Sangeet Sammelan (29 November–1 December) at SRA’s sprawling lawns. Later, as the final artist of the same evening, Kashalkar too proved it once again—what makes him the indisputable master of acchobhe, jod, and rarely heard ragas.

Flanked by tabla maestro Yogesh Samsi, harmonium virtuoso Gourab Chatterjee, and disciples Sai Aishwarya Mahashabde and Adwait on the tanpuras, he portrayed a widely neglected Malgunji with such loving precision that the raga, a heady blend of oft-heard Bageshri, Rageshri and Jaijaiwanti, emerged out with its glowing individuality. Moreover, a soulful interpretation of the lyrics of a traditional bandish, “Ban mein charawat gaiyan”, merged the raagroop with that of Krishna, the cowboy.

Simultaneously, Kashalkar’s exemplary technique of creating dramatic tension before the arrival of Sam and presenting a raga with suitable embellishment was at work, and the result was electric! Encores from informed listeners resulted in a pristine Nat Bihag, followed by several other uncommon ragas.

The nightlong session of the Saturday (30th) evening peaked in piety in the wee hours of Sunday. The introspective, lingering, and slowly bending or oscillating notes of raga Bhairav in dhrupad maestro Uday Bhawalkar’s jawaridar-rich voice created a blissfully peaceful ambience, a cherished virtue of Hindustani classical music that is dwindling now. But his disciples, like Sagar Morankar, promise to keep the lamp burning. As a tanpura and vocal accompanist, he filled the breathing gaps very competently. Pratap Awad’s pakhawaj very sensitively helped maintain the mood. There was no showmanship for a blissful change even when he sang “Narayan Hari tum” set to fast shooltal. The closing raga, Bhairavi’s alap, was a brilliant example of pure raagroop without additional notes. Its deliberate portrayal, studded with the rich lyrics of Saraswati-stuti in teevra, was spiritually charged.

Earlier, in the evening, Pandit Ajoy Chakarabarty, presently SRA’s sole city-based senior-most guru, adorned the stage along with tabla wizard Yogesh Samsi, harmonium virtuoso Jyotirmoy Banerjee, and disciples Anol Chatterjee and Sudipto Chakraborty for vocal and tanpura support. The Master chose Chandra Kaushiki, a raga invented by Guru Jnan Prakash Ghosh. Only Nikhil Banerjee, also a disciple of Guruji, learnt and played this raga, but since there is no bandish, vocalists didn’t sing it. I am offering my self-composed bandishes, he informed the listeners before venturing to delineate this strange raga—sporting Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha and Ni in equally strange manner. The longish alap seemed confused between dhrupad and khayal. The medium-paced rupak composition had some semblance to soothe the wrought nerves. Subsequently, his good old and sweet friend Bageshri did the rest by casting its spell. The following thumri displayed his interest in Purab Anga Gayaki.

Among the senior invitee musicians, sitar maestro Budhaditya Mukherjee was as brilliant as ever. So was the trio of Ojas Adhiya (tabla), Giridhar Udupa (ghatam) and Milind Kulkarni (harmonium). Popular vocalist Shubha Mudgal, violinist Kala Ramnath, and flautist Rakesh Chaurasia were their usual selves. The senior ITC SRA alumni also lived up to its reputation. It included an engaging duet of renowned vocalists Sanjukta Biswas and Sabina Islam Rahaman, a scintillating sitar recital by Ayan Sengupta, and a mellifluous vocal rendition of Brajeshwar Mukherjee. As usual, SRA showcased its promising younger scholars Shreya Chatterjee (vocal), Anagha Bhat (vocal) and Koustav Roy (sarod) as the opening artists of all three days of the Sammelan.

Welcome change 

It is highly commendable that the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture has relaxed the ban on women performing artists, and the celebration of the 157th birth anniversary of Sister Nivedita saw a dazzling recital of Kaushiki Chakraborty at Vivekananda Hall on 5 November.

Organised by Ramkrishna Sarada Mission and Sister Nivedita Heritage Museum and Knowledge Centre (16 Bosepara Lane, Baghbazar), the evening began with a melodious sarod recital of Abhishek Lahiri. He portrayed a beautiful version of Bhimpalasi, the raga of homecoming after a hard day of work. After evoking the intrinsic peaceful exposition of the raga in the initial alap-jod-jhala, Lahiri, with Debjit Patitundi’s equally skilful tabla as a perfect match, played two jhaptal gats of different gaits. While the first sported lots of laya-chhandakari, gamak phrases, and mukam-based elaboration, the second, endowed with a mukhra of tisra phrases descending from komal nishad, was a beauty in itself. A few bol-orientated taans were enough to adorn it. The drut teental gat, starting from mandra pancham, highlighted another angle of the raga decked up with fast ekhara taan patterns but chose the clichéd extra fast cacophonic end.

According to Kaushiki, “To do music or to become one” is her goal. Like her world-renowned father, she too is open to every genre of music. Surrounded by a team of brilliant musicians like Debjit Patitundi (tabla), Omkar Dalvi (pakhawaj), Murad Ali (sarangi), and Jyotirmoy Banerjee (harmonium), she ventured out to sing dhrupad for the first time. Her alap delineated raha Shree, and with ‘Hari ke charana kamal,’ a famous composition set to jhaptal, it was well rendered, supported by a simple theka on tabla and pakhawaj.

But thereafter she entered her comfort zone of khayal, replete with varied taans leaping up to atitar sa. In comparison, her second choice, a Chautal dhrupad in raga Yaman showcasing jatis and gamaks, was much better. Again, she followed it up with ‘Kinare kinare’, a unique khayal bandish set to ekwai and extra fast taans kept running at the cost of sur. Persistent encores led her to sing Aye na balam, and she did it with superb facility. Her last offering was ‘Prabhu mai ghulam’ in Bhairavi, a favourite bhajan of Swami Vivekananda.

The writer is a senior music critic