Fifth Classical Music Conference at Lakshyapar

Pandit Amaresh Ray Chaudhuri performs at the event.

The fifth annual classical music conference of Lakshyapar was held recently at the NCL Convention Centre, Narayanganj. Spanning from Thursday morning to Friday dawn, the programmes were divided in several sessions. The curtain rose with a rendition of the national anthem. In the first session, a classical music competition was held in two groups of school and college students. Selected from the educational institutions of Narayanganj City Corporation area, twenty students were trained through the year in Paramparaa, Lakshyapar School of Classical Music under the tutelage of Rezwan Ali.
The second session, held late in the afternoon, featured a very lively roundtable, participated by musicians, educationists, cultural and theatre activists. The topic was “The Use of Traditional Songs in Commercials”.
The third session began in the evening with a choral rendition of raga Bhimpalashree, performed by the trainees of Paramparaa. The first solo came with the young Sanjeeban Sanyal who impressed the audience with his flowing rendition of Raga Hamsadwani.
Veteran Pandit Amaresh Ray Chaudhuri received the Lakshyapar Lifetime Achievement Award. He was handed over the crest of by Md. Abdul Hai, the Administrator of Narayanganj Zilla Parishad. In his reaction, Pandit Amaresh Ray Chaudhuri said he had discovered -- through his lifelong practice -- the truth, that music is devotion, music is power and music is salvation.
The final spell of nightlong performances of vocal and instrumental classical music began next. Debutante Barnali Saha, a student of Shubhra Guha and Omkar Dadarkaar at SRA, India -- performed raga Yaman. Supriya Das, a disciple of Pandit Ramkanai Das and now of Rezwan Ali, performed next. Hailing from Sylhet, Supriya gave an overwhelming performance of Raga Anandi Kalyan. Her melodious voice swayed the hearts of the audience. A Santoor recital by Shantanu, an improvisation on Raga Puriya Dhaneshree, was appreciated by all.
The conference entered its final session with Rezwan Ali singing Raga Bageshree, followed by Shahadat Hossain Khan performing Raga Zilla Kafi on Sarod. Pandit Amaresh Ray Chaudhuri then took the stage, exploring through the lower notes of Raga Todi. The audience saw the artiste, past his mid-eighties, transform from his subdued physical condition to an incorporeal state.
Shibnath Das came up with flute and played Raga Charukeshi to further soothe the audience. A gifted Amin Akhtar Sadmani followed with a sombre rendition of Raga Bhairon. To close the conference, Ebadul Huq Shaikat came up with his fast maturing sitar to match the mellowness of the misty morning by his elaboration of Raga Parameshwaree.
The performances were aptly accompanied by some of the best tabla artistes of the country, including Swarup Hossain and Sabuj Ahmed. Young Sanjeeban Sanyal and Debashish Bhaumik accompanied on the harmonium and Sirajum Munir Sifat accompanied in tanpura. The programme was broadcast live on Radio Lakshyapar.