Reviews

Shubhadhwani

I was deeply moved while watching an audiovisual documentary on the life and works of tabla wizard Subhankar Banerjee, who, at the peak of his career, succumbed to Covid in 2021. What a huge volume of work in different fields of life in general and music, in particular, he has left behind! His best gift to the world of music is a clutch of well-groomed disciples, including Aarchik, his son.

 

Inspired by their vocalist mother, Nibedita, both Aarchik and Aahiri, along with their extended family, competently organised musicals to mark the birthday of their loving father, followed by his death anniversary under the aegis of Kajalrekha Musical Foundation and Taalsen Music Academy. These organisations were founded by the 'young' legend amidst shubhadhwani (auspicious sound). With the same title, the birthday was fondly observed at the prestigious Vivekananda Hall, Golpark, while the following event was held at EZCC Hall, Salt Lake.

 

Ironically, two veteran tabla maestros, Sanjay Mukherjee and Samar Saha, grabbed the limelight on both occasions. Mukherjee's recital was oozing with reverence for his art. Starting from a gayaki-anga peshkar, every mnemonic, phrase, composition or jati came alive with the touch of his agile fingers. Hiranmay Mitra, disciple-accompanist of the master, also sang through his harmonium. Such was the charming impact that Mukherjee received a spontaneous standing ovation from the packed hall. In comparison, Saha, a believer in edutainment, enchanted his audience with traditional uthhaan, kayda, baant, and rela with a thrilling combination of teental, jhaptal, ektal, gat, parans (mostly chakradar) as the final artist of the closing day.

 

Vocalist Waseem Ahmed Khan gave a vivid account of Agra gayaki by selecting Poorvi, a gharana-favourite raga, as the opening artist. The raga's intrinsic element of devotion dominated in his alap, bandish-gayaki (Naiya mori paar karo, slow Ek taal), (Mathura na jaiyo, fast Teen taal) and open, tuneful, heart-rending pukars reaching out to upper pancham. Ashoke Mukherjee's tabla and Sarwar Hussain's melodious sarangi encouraged his skill show with adroit accompaniment during cajoling behlawa, intelligent baant and taans with well-chiseled grains of varied sizes. He signed off with a lovely portrayal of Gaud Malhar. Shatanik Chatterjee, Khan's gifted disciple, offered commendable vocal support.

 

Anjishnu Mukherjee, a talented teen training with tabla maestro Arup Chatterjee, sprang a pleasant surprise by going solo and that too on the final day that was dedicated to only tabla. He was fortunate to have Hiranmay's steady harmonium support that enhanced his immaculate sense of laya, and his extraordinary taiyari with pristine nikas vouched for his bright future. Earlier, a group of four young students of Taalsen Academy, aided by Debashish Karmakar's time-keeping naghma on harmonium, commenced the second evening with their superb tabla tarpan (oblation). Among them, Advay Gupta and Debarghyo Das caught the attention for their contribution's euphoric clarity. Later, Samarpan, another tabla-vocal ensemble offered by the academy's students, showcased an enthralling monsoon mood through Jhap taal (Megh khayal bandish) and Teen taal (Des tarana).

 

A popular sitarist of his generation, Purbayan Chatterjee is known for experimental music. With Aarchik Banerjee (tabla) and Pratham Chatterjee (tanpura) he chose to etch Behag in the final slot of the festival. He began the alap with revealing phrases adorned with alluring bends, melodious kan, murki, meed, zamzama, and gamak taans. One expected a lot from this young, brilliant team, but jod onwards, Chatterjee strayed in the mirage of chords, which did not flatter the raga. His gambits hardly enjoyed Aarchik's pleasing potential. Rimpa Shiva, the famous lady tabla exponent and gurubehen of Subhankar Banerjee, could not rise to the occasion despite her laborious style of execution.                                                          PC:     Shiladitya Chattoraj

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