Music in its purest form
The second installment of the Bengal Classical Music Festival (BCMF) 2013 concluded recently. Alongside many evocative performances by music maestros, several Bangladeshi artistes showcased their music (either vocal or instrumental) on the prestigious platform.
Goutam Sarker, Swarup Hossain, Iftekhar Alam Prodhan and Md. Zakir Hossain performed a tabla quartet on the opening night of the festival. Based on teentaal, they started off the tabla lahora with the kayda “Dhin Kre Dhindha” accompanied by a South Indian Raga “Kirwani”. The accomplished artistes showcased a variety of kayda, tukra, chakradar and chakradar tehai. They presented traditional compositions of renowned gharanas -- Benaras, Delhi, Ajrara and Farrukkhabad in their respective solo and group recitals. Among the quartet, Goutam Sarker and Swarup Hossain stood out as performers. The packed audience responded with enthusiasm to the presentation.
On the second night, renowned Bangladeshi classical vocalist and Guru Asit Dey first gripped the mood of the raga “Puriya Kalyana” by rendering aalap of the raga. A disciple of Pandit Amarnath who was the senior-most disciple of Ustad Amir Khan -- started off his vilambit bandish “Aj So Bana” performance, set on jhumra taal. The vistar ang of his performance was decorative and followed by bahelawa, khatka, meend and ragdari with some difficult application of the raga. He beautifully showcased the two ang -- Puriya and Yaman -- of the raga which reminded one of the setting sun and the rising of the full moon. A tarana on teentaal and a drut ektaal bandish “Maan Abodh Mora” followed.
The penultimate night of Bengal Classical Music Festival '13 began with an immaculate sarod rendition by noted Bangladeshi artiste Rajrupa Chowdhury. The artiste started off her performance with an aalap based on Raga “Shyam Kalyan,” an opening tribute to the musical evening. The artiste styled different rhythmic jod breaking down the conventional recital. Pandit Yogesh Shamshi accompanied Rajrupa's performance with tisra (3/3) and seven-beat (3/2/2) rhythms that superbly caught the attention of classical music connoisseurs. Her skillful aalap and fast gamaki jod performance in lower octave was evocative. Later, Rajrupa played vilambit teentaal bandish on Raga “Rageshree”.
Another Bangladeshi artiste, Reenat Fauzia -- granddaughter of legendary Ustad Ayet Ali Khan, beautifully presented her recital set on a romantic Carnatic Raga “Kirwani”.
The fourth and the final night began with Manipuri dance recital by noted Bangladeshi artiste Tamanna Rahman and her dance troupe. Tamanna Rahman's presentation began with a “Gouranga Abahan” that embodies the invocation of Lord Chaitanya and describes his graceful dance. She was later accompanied by two other artistes -- Joyonti Samantha and Subrata. Her second presentation was based on the mythological story of how Lord Krishna subjugated the demon snake Kaliya, with the piece called “Kaliya Daman.” Ending her performance for the evening, “Dashavatara” conjured up the 10 forms that Lord Krishna took on to save the world from impending doom. The items were choreographed and directed by Tamanna's Guru Kalavati Devi, who was honoured alongside all the performers at the end of the performance.
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