When a hundred colours hold sway
MANJARI SINHA
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It was vintage sarangi at the recently concluded Saurangi Festival in New Delhi.
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SONOROUS SARANGI: Murad Ali gave a melodious performance at the Saurangi Festival in New Delhi.
One of the most expressiveand sophisticated string instruments, sarangi is rightly referred to as Saurangi, because its sonorous sound can produce hundreds of shades and add rang (colour) to a musical performance. Being close to human voice and able to replicate patterns of vocal music, it is an ideal accompaniment to Hindustani Classical music. The subtleties that can be acquired through sarangi cannot be attained through harmonium due to its limitations.But lately, just for convenience sake, sarangi is being replaced by harmonium for accompaniment. Its popularity is on the decline, also because of the fact that it is a difficult instrument to learn and master.
Thus, the Saurangi Festival was a welcome endeavour of the Saurang Parampara. A tribute to Ustad Siddique Ahmed Khan, the two days festival held at Kamani auditorium, showcased sarangi in its various avatars - from solo to accompaniment to a unique group ensemble of 13 sarangi players combined with Western instruments. The festival started with an impressive vocal duet by the young Shiraz Ahmed and Faraz Ahmed. Disciples of the Late Ustad Siddique Ahmed Khan and later groomed by Ustad Sabir Khan, the youngsters represent the vocal tradition of Moradabad Gharana. They sang Shyam Kalyan with full confidence, accompanied by Sudhir Pande on tabla, Asif Ali Khan on sarangi and Mahmood Dhoulpuri on harmonium.
Belying age
Sarwar Hussain came next with a sarangi solo. The grandson and disciple of the eminent sarangi maestro Ustad Abdul Latif Khan, Sarwar has the same lataafat in his sarangi. The repose of his sombre raga Marwa belied his young age. With a composition in `ati-vilambit jhumara,' a madhya laya bandish in teentaal and a fast drut ektaal, he went on to play the difficult raga Hari-Kaunsa. The elaborate treatment of the ragas, and clarity of his daanedaar taans that traversed through three octaves up to `ati-taar saptak' spoke volumes of his taleem and riyaaz. His style embodies the intricate delicacies of Ustad Abdul Latif Khan but he also tried successfully the challenging and most difficult style of Ustad Bundoo Khan. He concluded his recital with a melodious dhun. Nafees Khan on tabla was not `nafees' enough to match the nafasat and nazaquat of Sarwar's sensitive sarangi.
Instinctively creative
The evening concluded with a vocal recital by Shubha Mudgalwho held her audience spellbound with her mellifluous rendition of raga Kedar. The slow composition in vilambit ek-tal `jhankar pari' had its mesmerising sam on the taar shadaj. The chota khayal that followed in teen taal, a musical composition of Ramrang, named after her Guru Pandit Ram Ashrya Jha, was striking in terms of poetry and music both. Her effortless taans flowed like streams of water. She concluded with a delicate raga Desh in `addha theka'. The tonal quality of Murad Ali's sonorous sarangi, Anish Pradhan's melodious tabla and even her disciple Shweta Deshpande's voice matched perfectly to her own timbre. Mohmood Dhoulpuri gave able support on harmonium.
The star attraction of the next evening was the tabla solo by Anish Pradhan, a brilliant disciple of the legendary Gyan Prakash Ghosh. His teen taal offered varied flavours from the andaz of Ameer Hussain Khan to Ahmed Jaan Thirakava, the `Purab Ka Gat Ang Quayada,' the use of `Tak Tak bol,' and above all his crisp parhant were highly appreciated . The evening had started with a sarangi solo by talented Murad Ali, who played raga Poorvi, Shankara and a melodious dhun accompanied by Ghulam Ghaus Bharati on tabla. The festival concluded with the grand finale of the Saurang ensemble. It was heartening to see 13 sarangi players in one go along with keyboards, drums, bass and of course tabla accompaniment.
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