Guru Purnima - Four Different Hues

Devotion, emotion, technical brilliance and sheer intellectualism can make one recital of Indian classical music vastly different from another. It is remarkable how Pandit Arvind Parikh assimilated these elements in balanced measure, structuring them logically to enrich a recital while displaying exceptional technical brilliance. He has recorded 400 gats for posterity and created videos covering every aspect of teaching and learning music. Even on the threshold of his birth centenary, he continues to groom students, both virtually and in person, through one-to-one sessions.

A devoted disciple, he dedicates every accolade bestowed upon him to his guru, Ustad Vilayet Khan. He truly believes that the grand felicitation offered to him by Sri Shanmukhananda Fine Arts and Sangeetha Sabha titled 'Sitaro Shatam' was truly meant for his guru only. During the annual Guru Purnima congregation, organised by his disciples, he humbly steps aside, presenting himself merely as a representative of his guru.

This year at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai, the two-day event saw quite a few of his senior disciples, many of whom have already made their mark on the music scene with distinction.

The Cream

Among them, Ramprapanna Bhattacharya's new avatar was mellow and peaceful. One's senses resonated with the soulful notes of Bheemplasi on his majestic surbahar. On the sitar, he showcased highly skilful gatkari in Patdeep. Vocalist Supriyo Dutta's rich, deep voice traversed three octaves effortlessly exhibiting Bheemplasi's beauty through three exquisit bandishes, duly decorated with khayal angas. The clarity of taans in every tempo was remarkable, while each arrival on sam was aesthtically crafted. Chiranjib Mukherjee (tabla) and Suraj Sharma (harmonium) provided sensitive and responsive accompaniment.

Raga Paraj, a unique choice of sitar virtuoso Gopal Krishna, made his recital particularly distinctive. With Anutosh Deghariya's competent, anticipating tabla support, he crafted delighting filigree with rhythmic laya-chhand and taans. Bhupal Panshikar offered an introspective rendition of Marwa on the sitar, replete with delicate details of the raga. On Varad Bhonsale's sitar, Yaman began with devotional fervour and later turned to romantic mood maintaining sweetness throughout. Shantanu Desmukh's complementary tabla accompaniment enhanced the rendition.

The Upcoming

Promising shehnai nawaz Kiran Shinde etched the features of Bhairav beautifully. Evidently, he has internalised his taleem that infused peace in his melodic expressions. Arun Shinde (tabla) judiciously supported him while slide guitarist Prathamesh Pareek, brought youthful exuberance and technical prowess to his rendition of Madhuwanti. He concluded with the Bhatiyali (read Baul) dhun immortalised by Khansaheb and punched multihued ragamalika phrases as lively interludes. 

The Veterans      

Impeccable raga delineation enriched by depth and substance, was the hallmark of the recitals of veterans such as vocalist Purvi Parikh and Maruti Patil. Purvi presented Bihag in slow jhumra, followed by medium and drut Teental, a tarana, and her father’s devotional Pilu bandish. Maruti Patil presented Puriya Kalyan in both slow and fast Teental. Supported by Anutosh Degharia's seasoned tabla, both exemplified the silsila based music making of their gharana. Vinod Pagde shadowed the vocalist on the harmonium with due care. 

The Seniors 

Among the senior sitarists were Altaf Khan (Bageshri), Amrita More (Jog), Madhura Karambelkar (Shuddh Sarang), Jyothi Shyam (Bhimpalasi) and Varsha Sohale (Pilu). They have already carved their own niches but but further refinement and greater expressive vitality could help them progress towards higher levels of musical accomplishment.

The virtual participants included NRIs such as Abhik Mukherjee (Khamaj) and Mehboob Nadeem (Todi) who pursue music as a profession, while Premal Bhana (Khamaj dhun) and Illesh Patel (Jhinjhoti) who balance demanding careers with music as a passion. Veteran sitarist Allen Postle of Australia presented Sindhura with conviction. James Pussey of the UK offered Madhuwanti, though greater attention to the precise rendering of its key phrases could have strengthened the presentation.

Jaspal Singh Kalsi’s rendition of Shabad lacked development. Talented Harpreet Singh appeared less assured in the classical idiom, while his surprise item—neither ghazal nor qawwali—did not make the desired impact.

Future Perfect

It was heartening to listen to ten young grand disciples of Arvind Parikh. Among them, Swayam Siddha Priyadarshi, groomed by Ramprapanna Bhattacharya, played a soothing Todi with moving maturity. So did Allen Posselt's student Simon Gill (Bilaskhani Todi alap). Siddharth Verma (Todi), student of Gopal Krishna; Megh Bapat (Bhimpalasi), student of Bhupal Panshikar; and USA based Abhik Mukherjee's student Galen Passen (Shuddh Sarang) displayed considerable potential. With diligence and regular practice, these young musicians can continue to grow and develop their individual voices.

As always, Arvind Parikh felicitated five 'Unsung Heroes' of the music world. This year the chief guest, Jagdish Lakhani, Director General of the Bhavan, was invited to do the honours. He emphasized the necessity of fostering Indian Culture and promised unstinted cooperation.

Guru Vandana in Kolkata

Metamorphosis was the central idea of a pre-Guru Purnima tribute to inimitable tabla guru Shankar Ghosh whose musicianship lives on through his numerous celebrated disciples. Organised at Daga Nikunj in an intimate baithaki style, it evoked nostalgia of our childhood days, when there was hardly any difference between Tansen (initiated musicians) and Kansen (uninitiated but knowledgeable listeners). Classical music was then among the most sought-after forms of entertainment, as well as a means of exchanging ideas between musicians and the listening public. Fortunately, renowned sitarist Subhranil Sarkar's Baithaki movement received enthusiastic approval despite his insistence to change the trend of free invitations and to honour the artistes by purchasing tickets! 

The event began on a thrilling note featuring Arup Chattopadhyay, Parimal Chakraborty and Subrata Bhattacharya, three among Shankar Ghosh’s many celebrated disciples. hey were joined by star musician Bickram Ghosh, the legendary guru’s only son, who shared intriguing anecdotes from the stage, adding warmth and intimacy to the proceedings.

The trio presented their revered Guruji's brilliant compositions loaded with captivating musicality of aesthetically studded bols having diverse aural effect in teental and jhaptal. The exchange of notes with Bickram ghosh, added warm and lively personal touch. Hiranmay Mitra, a laya-daar harmonium wizard, contributed equally commendably.

Child prodigy turned feted vocalist Manali Bose cast her spell with her version of raga Jaijaiwanti. The pinpointed accuracy and even-toned range of her golden voice is her biggest asset. The event concluded with a scintillating sarod recital by Abhishek Mallick.

Madhyami's Reverence

Madhyami, a beautiful raga created by legendary sitar maestro Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan, is also the name of an organisation nurtured by his devoted disciple, veteran sitarist Hara Shankar Bhattacharya, the sole guru of the Jafferkhani baaj. Every year, he offers a melodic tribute to his Guruji with infectious enthusiasm while promoting this distinctive style.

This year a devastating tragedy claimed the life of his nephew and beloved disciple Rohan Dasgupta, a hugely gifted allrounder musician. The loss shook the music world and disrupted his plans, but he, along with his celebrated sitarist son Deep Shankar Bhattacharjee, put up a brave front as true devotees of music, shouldering the responsibility of keeping the programme going despite their profound personal loss.

Their joint interpretation of Maru Bihag displayed the intricacies of their ornate style during the alap and jod. Both, especially Deep, balanced emotional depth and skill in equal measures. Their gatkaris were deftly supported by tabla virtuosos Ashok Mukherjee and Prashanto Dey Roy.

Earlier the evening commenced with Kumar Bose's worthy disciple Arunabho Mukherjee’s brilliant solo tabla recital. He highlighted the power packed but multihued compositions of Benares gharana, supported by an erudite harmonium player Kamalaksha Mukherjee. The event was held at ICCR, Kolkata.

Devayatan's Suryog 

Suryog is the core of all activities at Sree Satyananda Devayatan and Mahapeeth. As exemplified by Sree Archanapuri Maa, under the guidance of her spiritual guru Sree Thakur Satyananda, it evokes Madhura Bhakti that uplifts and reaches one's soul to spiritual plane naturally. Maa wrote, tuned and sang beautiful compositions dedicated to her revered guru Her principal disciple, Swami Mrigananda, followed in her footsteps. This vast collection of divine lyrics inspired several renowned composers to set them to tune have them recorded by professional singers. 

At one-point, eminent singer-composer Ramanuj Dasgupta had tuned and sung several songs penned by Maa. This Guru Purnima the Devayatan reverberated with his devotion filled renditions of some of those soulful songs. He also chose to sing his favourite compositions and excelled in Jo bhaje Hari ko sada, an immortal bhajan sung by Pandit Bhimsen Joshi.

The celebration climaxed with a mesmerizing performance by Swagatalakshmi Dasgupta, an erudite, acclaimed exponent of the entire collection of Tagorean oeuvres. The ambience of this haven of Suryog helped her unwind and share her thoughts. She poured her soul into her renditions. An oft heard E ki labonnye poorno praano was particularly effective when it rose to a peak of devotional fervour.