With the city drowned in the anxiety of scanty rainfall this year, here was an initiative to please the Rain Gods by bringing the best musicians of the country like Bhansuri legend Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia and renowned vocalist Venkatesh Kumar to the city. The Monsoon Music Festival, Barkha Ritu resounded with the’ raining’ performance of these two great artistes.
The most awaited concert of the season saw the rendition of seasonal ragas like Malhar, Jayanth Malhar, Pahaadi and many other ragas by both the artistes, drawing a huge, appreciative audience.
The Gwalior Gharana exponent Ventakesh Kumar began the concert with Raag Miya Malhaar in a slow tempo introducing the audience to the nuances of the Raag. In the second half of developing the Raag, he started exploring different facets of Malhar. While traversing through different sangathis, he enthralled the audience by exploring its high and low notes. The selection of Mohammed Shah Rangila’s bandish set the right ambience for an audience awaiting the monsoons in the city. The solo introduction of the Raga was complemented by refined strokes of Tabla by Pandit Vishwanath Nakod. As the rythmical cycles progressed, Venkatesh Kumar perfectly blended his creative sangathis with laya.
Later, he chose to render a composition ‘Bharase Badaliya Sawan ke’ in Raag Jayanth Malhar. The presentation and progression of the Raag took the audience to their ideal world. He, later rendered Basavanna’s Vachana ‘Kalabeda Kolabeda’ and then concluded the performance with Saint Kanakadasa’s ‘Thoredu Jeevisabahude’ which gained wide appreciation. On the whole, Venkatesh Kumar proved his mettle in bringing out different interpretations of Malhaar but retaining its purity.Venkatesh Kumar’s flawless rendition was later followed by the most awaited perfomance by the Bansuri legend Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia.
The maestro chose to render a composition in the seasonal Raag Malhaar set to Rupak Taal. Each sangathi the maestro played was perfectly followed by his disciple Pandit Rajesh.
Addressing the audience, he said, “I am now going to play a Thumri. Although these are meant for singing. But if I sing, the organisers will not invite me for a concert again.” The musician rightly conveyed emotions to the audience through their performances. The soothing, tinkling notes and melody of Bansuri, and a perfect evening created an ambience of contemplative meditation for music lovers.Like in many concerts, he chose to perform a composition ‘Vaatapi Ganapathim,’ of Hamsadhwani Raag in Carnatic classical music style. Speaking about his choice, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia said, “This is a Carnatic classical music Raag which can be played in any season, anytime and anyday.”
On the other hand, the journey with Raag Pahaadi and his experimentation with different sangathis enthralled one and all. The Tabla maestro, Yogesh Samsi intelligently matched the intricate strokes as the ace Bansuri artiste revealed the mystery within this Raag. The legendary artiste made an effort to please the Rain God through his amazing performance.
Overall, the city music lovers witnessed a memorable performance by the renowned artistes. For those who missed this classical treat, try to catch up next time, when the legends are in the city.
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