Preserving tradition

Marg Darshan Arts, founded by sarod maestro Debashish Bhattacharya, debuted with its commendable presentation of Sur-o-Sadhna, dedicated to his legendary Guru Pandit Buddhadev Dasgupta, who chiselled several disciples who are shining bright in the arena of sarod. The event, held at Gyan Manch, commenced with the felicitations of eminent sarod maestro Samarendranath Sikdar and renowned sarod maker Dulal Kanji.

The mellowed and calm mood of Raga Bageshri, as perceived by the thoughtful sarod of Prattyush Banerjee, was the pinnacle of this long evening, featuring five renowned artists of the present age. This worthy disciple of Pandit Dasgupta portrayed the raagroop with appropriate andolans and very long but gentle meends that traversed from octave to octave with pleasing refinement. Eschewing jod-jhala, the serenity of alap merged very smoothly with a very simple gat-bandish set to medium-paced jhaptal. Later, the gatkari, replete with taan, chhand, and laya of different paaterns, by the master showcased his pristine playing techniques. Next, he played a fast teental gatkari in Gorakh Kalyan, an attractive raga that offers several melodious chords. The mukhda of the gat has a curious pause at Komal Ni before rolling down to Sam on Lower Ni! Cascading taans of varied patterns, followed by a short tihai, completed the portrayal of this romantic melody. As compared to Bengal’s tabla accompanists, Gurdain Rayatt was quietly relishing the melody, except for the uthhans and closures of gatkaris.

The opening artist, young Kathak danseuse Paromita Bhattacharya, disciple of Guru Madhumita Roy, was impressive from the word go due to the combined effect of power and grace in the mangalacharan ‘Niratata Shankar Parvati sang’. Her pure dance in dhamar, abhinaya (based on a ghazal), and again, a few teental compositions spoke high of her command over talas, appealing postures, and neat footwork. Her entourage included very melodious vocalist Arindam Bhattacharya and sitar player Sanjay Banerjee, apart from Biswajeet Pal (tabla) and Soumyajyoti Ghosh (flute).

The technical prowess displayed by young sarod virtuoso Indrayuddh Majumdar with brilliant tabla player Debjit Patitundi by his side was highly commendable, but it was not necessary to modify the typical stress on Re of the key phrase (m g R S) of his chosen raga, Madhuwanti. Vocalist Waseem Ahmed Khan, the fast-rising exponent of Agra Gharana, was brilliant. Tabla wizard Rimpa Shiva was her usual self.

Unsung heroes

Bharatanatyam Guru Anita Mallik has a long track record of presenting her new productions based on unique themes under the aegis of Jodhpur Park Saraswat Sanskriti Kendra, her organisation. This year, she focused on the unsung heroes among Indian freedom fighters. The intensity of patriotic emotions in the production, titled ‘Swadesh Swadheenata Bharatvarsha’, was too much to bear for the spectators in a packed Madhusudan Mancha.

The storyline covered a long history of the burning struggle for freedom since the War of the Palasi. Ironically, in the pages of history, one did not find the names of freedom fighters like Binda Tiwari, Masterda Suryasen, and innumerable others who gave their lives to bring India closer to its aim of attaining freedom. Today, many of us know the real story, but the way the sacrifice of Khudiram, the entry of Azad Hind Fauj, or the choreography of songs like ‘Bhoy ki marane’ and ‘O Amar desher mati’ were staged, one could not help forcing down the rising lump choking one’s throat. Suman Sarkar’s music, Calcutta Choir’s group songs, Dr Arumay Bhattacharya’s script and narration, along with Madhumita Bose, Kavita Chatterjee’s dance direction, Soumen Chakraborty’s light design, etc., under the direction of Anita Mallik, took this presentation to greater heights.

Earlier, the evening began with a discussion on Netaji’s spies in Calcutta city. It revealed the modus operandi of the Azad Hind Secret Service, their training, the link between the cultural world and the freedom fighters, the sacrifice of dancer Saraswati Rajmani, and several other facts. The participants were Ranendramohan Roy, son of Azad Hind Secret Service Chief Pavitramohan Roy, Netaji researcher-author Saikat Niyogi, and writer Soumyabrata Dasgupta as moderator.

Folk fusion

Presented by ICCR, renowned Rabindrasangeet and folk singer Sanchari Banerjee enthralled her listeners with her melodious and emotion-charged renditions of folk numbers in a refreshingly new style at Satyajit Ray Auditorium recently. There were several dignitaries, including a few officials from foreign embassies, who relished this one hour and forty minutes’ solo concert based on oft-heard fourteen folk songs in a rock format.

This folk fusion turned out to be a peppy and heady blend. Trained by Maya Sen, Swagatalakshmi Dasgupta (Rabindrasangeet), and Abhijit Basu (folk), she excels in both, which is why she could handle the fusion with her own rock band with elan. Neel Biswas (drums), Shantanu Das (guitar), Shovraj Dey (bass guitar), Chiku Ganguly (percussion), and Subhankar Dolui (keyboard) provided inspiring support all through.

In fond memory

To honour the legacy of the esteemed maestro, Dr Kalyan Mukherjea, the Raga Fellowship Foundation proudly hosted the second edition of the Dr Kalyan Mukherjea Memorial Festival at the GD Birla Auditorium (6–18 February). Dr Kalyan Mukherjea’s profound musical journey was characterised by depth and seriousness, which resonated deeply with discerning listeners. While eschewing popular acclaim, his music touched the hearts of those who truly understood its essence. The Foundation bestowed the prestigious Dr Kalyan Mukherjea Memorial Award upon the renowned sitar maestro Budhaditya Mukherjee in recognition of his outstanding contribution to Indian classical music.

The three-day festival featured only six renowned classical artists. This thoughtful planning helped them provide ample time for the maestros to display the depth of their sadhana. Sarod maestro Prattyush Banerjee, once again, hogged the limelight with his superb rendition. Equally superbly supported by Pandit Yogesh Samsi on the tabla, he played seasonal ragas Kamod and Bahar, followed by a dhun in Kafi. The astounding rhythmic play by both was perhaps the highlight of this festival.

Veteran vocalist Begum Parveen Sultana has retained her charming, melodious voice as supple as in her earlier days, but her style has become predictable and commonplace. It is true that it was she who startled the music world in the 1960s with her range of voice covering three octaves; it is being replicated by almost every other vocalist now. Accompanied by tabla maestro Abhijit Banerjee, harmonium wizard Jyoti Goho, and daughter Sadaf Sultana Khan, a budding vocalist, she began by delineating raga Maru Bihag and went on to sing a Kabir bhajan and the Bhairavi saadra “Bhavani Dayani” in her evergreen bhajan mode.

Among others, sitar maestro Vinayak Chitter, ably assisted by Ustad Akram Khan on the tabla, delineated an emotive raga jog and a Piloo dhun. Agra Gharana’s blue-blood torchbearer, Waseem Ahmad Khan, presented the vociferous darbari gayaki of his gharana. He received inspiring support from Sarwar Hussain’s melodious sarangi and Sanjoy Adhikary’s powerful tabla. The effect was captivating. Young maestros Arnab Chakraborty (vocal) and Samrat Pandit (vocal) have to go a long way to scale the peaks of music. The former was accompanied by Ustad Akram Khan’s seasoned tabla, while the latter was flanked by another young maestro, Soumen Nandy’s tabla, and Arpan Bhattacharya’s harmonium.

Magan Mandir

Sangeetacharya Chinmay Lahiri, who had trained several young talents like Parveen Sultana, Mandira Lahiri (his daughter-in-law), and others, was a prolific composer of khayal bandishes along with semi-classical and modern Bengali songs under his pen name ‘Magan’. Mgan Mandir is the brainchild of Pandit Shyamal (his son) and Mandira Lahiri, where eager students flock to learn classical and semi-classical music. The organisation pays tribute to their beacon by spreading his unique compositions among the general public and presenting them by organising annual events. One such melodic event was organised at Uttam Mancha recently. Apart from the students of Magan Mandir, several renowned singers participated and sang the beautiful compositions of the Sangeet Acharya. The legacy carries on.

The writer is a senior music critic.