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Of serenity and verve
MEENA BANERJEE
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Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar’s mellowed aesthetics floored music lovers in Kolkata recently.
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Pure beauty Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar.
Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar confirmed, once again, that the magnificence of any art form tiptoes in gradually with life’s experience, and that is why the proverbial ‘shabaab’ is associated with ‘tajurba’. The recital of the m
aestro was positioned between two technically brilliant presentations by younger starlets at Kolkata’s Nazrul Mancha recently. But if the display of vim and vigour of youth was electrifying, the serene beauty of the mellowed aesthetics was simply divine in its appeal.
His elaborate aochar etched Puria Dhanashri with the strokes of long meends and heavy gamaks. There was no trace of lighter embellishments like harkat and murki, even in the bol-vistar segment in the slower composition set to Ek Tala. Each phrase sparkled like a crystal.
This pristine purity flowed through all the angas of Khayal gayaki — an expertise seldom found nowadays. The methodical gradual progression through the subtle layakari, heavy gamak taans, bol-taans to fast taans was punctuated by emotive pukars. This led to the faster bandish in Teen tala, decked up with a variety of complex taans.
His next choice was Hindoli, a pentatonic raga belonging to the Agra gharana. Though akin to Hindol, this has a different chalan that lays more emphasis on Gandhar. Veteran Samar Saha’s unobtrusive tabla, aided by Jyoti Goho’s equally experienced harmonium, started giving delightful replies to the rhythmic filigree designed by Kashalkar during bol-baant and taans. Organised by the United Bank of India Officer Employees’ Association, this event proved two points. Firstly, despite the apprehensions caused by the diluted traditional values, more and more organisations are showing interest in classical music; and secondly, they have equal faith in the youth.
Thrilling amalgam
Tabla virtuoso-cum-actor Bickram Ghosh and his team of Rhythmscape have gained immense popularity for the thrilling amalgam of rhythmic designs collected from all over the globe. Somnath Roy (ghatam), Gopal Burman (shrikhol), Chirodeep Lahiri (drums), Pulak Sarkar (keyboard), Sanjay Das (guitar) and Supratik Das (vocal) lived up to the expectations raised by Ghosh’s flamboyant introduction.
Also, true to his claim, the compositions were deeply rooted in classical ragas and talas of Indian music. A power-packed “Dance of Shiva”, their invocation, and a lilting “Little Krishna” displayed heavy influence of Carnatic style. “Sajna”, another song-based item, seemed to roam from place to place in search of the beloved, holding the hands of ragas Maand, Pahadi, Nand and spontaneous upaj by different instruments.
Kaushiki Desikan
Earlier, the evening commenced with Kaushiki Desikan’s vocal recital in Bhimpalasi. After an explicit introductory phrase, her bol-vistar in ati-vilambit Ek tala was innovative, but restive too. It explored almost all the avenues of the raga and indicated that it was going to get heavily ornate treatment. And it did. Shubhashish Bhattacharya and Rupashri Bhattacharya were very supportive on the tabla and the harmonium respectively.
Laden with murki, kampan, super-fast taans spread over almost three octaves, her gayaki followed the footsteps of her father-guru Ajoy Chakrabarty’s cerebral style. She concluded with a dadra describing Holi. This un-seasonal choice, though rendered beautifully, was rather surprising.
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
|
