Celebrities enthral with assured fare

One notable feature of the ongoing Saptak festival at Kashiram Agarwal Hall in Ahmedabad is the presence of veterans on all the 13 days of the musical mahotsav.

So, of equal significance was the fact that each day's fares in general turned to be outstanding successes.

The stars of the sixth day were crowd pullers Pundit Shivkumar Sharma (Santoor) and Zakir Hussein (Tabla), Another artiste who deserves special mention is Rahul Sharma, son of senior Sharma.

The music produced by the three in tandem with well-tuned melodies and well-cut rhythms in their kalavati raag was mesmerising. When they expanded the number after the improvised prelude in free time to develop the raaga, technically called 'alaap-jhor-jhala' into compositions (bandishes) they were just spreading before the public musical marvels with impromptu or structure variations.

An awesome mixture of exoticism and symphony atmosphere combined to create the typical santoor-tabla ambience of the pleasant winter night with strong contents of light and shade, raucus brass and pulsating beats which could call for repeated hearings. No wonder that Kashiram Hall was packed to capacity.

Those who could not make it into the hall stood on the pathways leading to the auditorium to hear the music.

In the framework of vocal music, Mahendra Toke earned the admiration of puritans of classical music for establishing sampradaya through his abhogi - an ancient South Indian raaga - often resorted to by Hindustani musicians as well. Raag Abhogi represents the ancient Saman Chant and serves as the right piece to create instant rapport with the listeners.

The understanding that permeated through Toke's vilambit and Dhrut Khayal here co-existed admirably. The first few lines were slow, steady and corresponding to the chant of this raaga. His performance was best when he embellished the piece through taans and saptswaras and rounded off with tarana which enhanced the beauty of the bandish.

The fare included tabla taals by three students - Jay Dubhasi, Shabir Hussein and Suril Udesh, all students of Nandan Mehta's Saptak School. The three boys seemed to have inherited their master's precision in playing. They showed loads of talent and would rise to higher scales in days to come if they judiciously followed their guru's footsteps.

Compiled from local news media