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.

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