To the depths of musical divinity
The second night's melodic proceedings of the fourth Bengal Classical Music Festival was evocative of many magical performances. The living legend Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty made music lovers delve deep into the core of divinity. The Pandit started off with a meditative bandish “Mere Manme Baso Allah Tero Naam”, based on Raga Bairagi, also known as Raga Bairaga Bhairava (based on the South Indian raga, Revati).
Pt. Chakrabarty presented a self composed vilambit bansdish “Nata Banao, Rishta Banao”. He also showcased various meendkhand, rare musical phrases of the raga styled by legendary maestros including Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali. He rendered an antique bandish “Sur Sur Se Sadhe Re Rasik” on teentaal.
The performance was characteristic of Pandit Chakrabarty's exquisite pukar, gamaki alap in mandra saptak, boltaan, and effortless swar vistar in three octaves, long meend and murki. Through his soulful rendition, the maestro created a transcendental aura, aiming to connect the divinity with his melody. He later performed a Bangla song “Banshi Bajey Jogiyaye”, set on raga Jogia.
Shubhayu Sen Majumdar played Raga Malkauns on his esraj before him. Through his performance, the maestro diffused their sweet melancholic aroma of blooming flowers at the dead end of the night. Shubhayu produced soothing melodies and mesmerised all, styling meend, bahelawa, murki and speedy yet balanced taan. The artiste prominently produced pukar-ang in his recital that was suggestive of melancholy. Later, he performed a short yet heart-wrenchingly romantic recital on Raga Khamaj.
The audience, for the first time, enjoyed a rare jugalbandi of Carnati vocal by the forerunner legend Dr. Balamuralikrishna and Shank Basuri created by Pt. Ronu Majumdar. Ronu Majumdar first took the stage and captivated all with his stunning spell of Raga Bageshri recital. The artiste's speedy taan performance coupled with graceful generation of murki, meend and pukar kept Dhaka music lovers rapt.
The entire audience gave a standing ovation as the legendary Dr. Balamuralikrishna came on stage. He along with his troupe comprising a violinist, a mridangam artiste and his favourite disciple (on vocal support) took part in some rare jugalbandi performances with the flautist and tabla artiste.
Based on Dr. Balamuralikrishna's self composed piece of raga Abhogi Kanada, the solo and jugalbandi pieces were enthralling. Prior to that, the senior-most maestro of the festival rendered several of his own compositions on Carnatic Ragas Nata and Kadanakuthuhalam.
Vainika Jayanthi Kumaresh was on stage to debut the saraswati veena to the Dhaka audience. The lucid strokes and notes that she produced in the performances of Ragas Kamavardani, Kapi and a folk tune on Carnatic Behag, enchanted all.
Pandit Suresh Talwalkar, generating an artistic fullness along with daughter Sawani Talwalkar, played a breathtaking tabla lahora at the festival. The maestro played beats and rhythm encompassing diverse kayda, rela, loggi, chakradar, chakradar tehai and more. He presented a kayda, composed by Ustad Alla Rakha and a complex Chakradar tehai.
Among other performances, the immaculate dhrupad performance on Raga Yaman by Pt. Uday Bhawalkar was a special treat for the music enthusiasts. Bengal Parampara students Susmita Debnath Suchi rendered khayal on a romantic Raga Behag, while Avijit Kundu opened the evening's performances with a dhrupad on Raga Bhopali.
Photo: RIDWAN ADID RUPON / SHEIKH MEHEDI MORSHED
Performing tonight at the festival
Kuchipudi by Guru Raja and Radha Reddy
Carnatic violin by Ganesh and Kumaresh Rajagopalan
Santoor by Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma
Sarod by Pt. Tejendra Narayan Majumdar
Dhrupad vocals by Ulhas Kashalkar
Tabla by Ustad Zakir Hussain