Reviews
Women of Substance

Dhaibat dedicated an entire evening to three women artists to
pay tributes to their indomitable spirits that kept their passion for music
alive and kicking despite all odds. All of them have carved a niche for
themselves in diverse arenas of music. Rupashree Bhattacharya is a sought-after
harmonium accompanist due to her vast repertoire. She took extensive talim in
khayal, dhrupad and thumri under renowned artists Ajoy Chakrabarty, Falguni
Mitra (dhrupad) and Sipra Bose (thumri). Lately, she has emerged as an equally
capable soloist who can make the reeds sing out kans, meends, gamaks and
andolans with remarkable ease. On this day, as the final artist, her version of
Surdasi Malhar, decorated with all the finer nuances of khayal, radiated the
intrinsic beauty of this popular monsoon melody. Aided by tabla maestro Sanjay
Adhikari’s seasoned accompaniment, she exhibited her prowess in rhythm-play
while doing gatkaris in Roopak and Teen taal, culminating in extra fast jhala.
But veteran sitarist Reena Srivastava’s short and sweet
exposition of raga Vachaspati cast its spell on the audience on that
rain-soaked evening at a nicely renovated Sujata Sadan. Paucity of time did not
deter her from displaying all the fineries’ extremely melodious beauty, further
enhanced by her superb sense of editing. Her alap consisted of innovative note
combinations, and jod maintained the sweetness of strokes in dancing phrases
and taans. Eschewing jhala, she invited tabla maestro Shubhajyoti Guha to join
in for Teen taal based slow and fast gatkaris. He greeted her with a
reverential uthaan that maintained the softness of mood. Together, they
completed the exquisite detailing of raga rendition in the parlance of their
respective instruments.
Steadily rising vocalist Bishnupriya Chakraborty’s tuneful
renditions of khayals in extra slow Ek taal and fast Teen taal set to raga
Megh, followed by Abke Sawan ghar aaja,
a famous thumri, spoke in volumes that she is serious about her music with an
open mind towards more contents across gharanas. Soumen Sarkar (tabla) and
Hiranmay Mitra (harmonium) provided excellent support in both the genres chosen
by the vocalist. The inspired laggi trailing the thumri brought her longish
recital to a thrilling end.