Rabindra Sangeet and Adhunik Gaan concert

On Sunday evening, I was transported to Bhadralok and Boston in that order thanks to a Rabindra Sangeet and Adhunik Gaan concert. While my fascination for Rabindra Sangeet goes back to school days in Hyderabad, it was in Boston that it exploded thanks to "Amra Kojon". All those memories came back as I got engrossed in the singing of Samik Pal.

Samik started the session with "mamo joubano nikunje gahe pakhi" and when he came to "jaago jaago" the voice soared like a "pakhi" in full flight. The program was advertised as "Char Kobir Gaan" covering Tagore, Atul Prasad, DL Roy, Rajanikanto but a Nazrul Geeti shudn't be considered out of place. And the choice was impeccable with "patho cholite, jodi chokite".

"tai tomar anondo amar por" was the next number. The heavy Hemanto flavor finally gave way with "O keno eto shundori holo", a perennial Manna Babu favorite. Samik talked about magnificent rythm of Salilda and announced "no prizes for guessing" as he started singing "duronto ghornir".

By the time the turn of Monihar came, my excitement got the better of me. I started singing along "ki jeno go dekheche amay..." and caught of the attention of the gentleman sitting next to me. As the singer gave clues (in bengali)to identify the next song; the gentleman said something to the effect " do you recognised this". I didn't and just smiled and shook my head without admitting that I understand only a little bit of Bengali :)

V.Balsara's orchestration got a special mention in Talat's "jetha ramdhanu uThe heshe". Meanwhile famarish'es started coming in, and a few pieces of paper were handed over to the singer. On looking at the first one the singer refused saying "it was out of syllabus". I cudn't figure it out as the original scope of the program was already expanded to cover other Adhunik Poets.

Satinath Mukherjee's "Amar e gaane swapno jadi ane" and Hemant's "keno duur e thako" followed. Subir Sen's irresistible "noy thakle aro kichukon" was next on the agenda.

It has to be noted that while Samik sang songs of wide variety of singers, he came close to matching their voices. The exception was "mono dilo na bodhu" but then again Sachin Deb Burman's inimitable style and voice are very hard to reproduce.

Hemanto flavor returned with "tumar bhubhone" and "tapur topur brishti jhore". Hemanta & Tarun Majumdar's association was recounted before the latter rendition. Shyamal Mitro's "Sediner Sona Jhora Sandhya" by Shyamal Mitro and  Hemant's "ai raat tomar amar" rounded off the incredible evening.

It will take some time before I get out of this hangover. While I am at it, let me wish "shubo noboborsho" to all of you.

An evening of Ghazals

It was a privilege to be at IIC this evening to attend the concert of my friend Swati and her Guru ji; maestro Pandit Vithal Rao; the last court singer of the Nizam of Hyderabad.

 The cultural event was held in conjunction with Celebrating Karnataka and showcased the erstwhile Sultanate ruled part of Karnataka - i.e Bijapur, Bidar and Gulbarga. In line with the theme, works of several shayars from Deccan was highlighted.

Octogenarian Pandit ji still has immaculate control of his voice and he began with a devotional naaT. Wonderful "sarangi" accompaniment added to the "sufiana mahaul". The only thingout of sync was the mike which was finally set right but not before a witty remark "zor se taaliya bajaiye taaki technicians ka hausla baDhe".

Swati then took over with the Hafeez Hoshiarpuri's "mohabbat karne waale kam na honge, teri mehfil mein lekin hum na honge" which has been made quite famous by Mehdi Hassan among others. It was a poignant renedition which also delighted Pandit ji.

Quli Qutub Shah's name is taken in high esteem when we talk about dakhani shayars. His kalaam, "piya baj piyala" was presented next by Pandit ji. With the mike co-operating, Pandit ji was now in full flow; soaring voice accompanied by trademark gestures including waving and clapping which was infectious and the audience followed suit.

Sunil Rao followed with a Makhdoom Ghazal and a fabulous rendition of "maula mere maula". A sufiana kalam of Safi Aurangabadi was rendered by all the three singers of the evening and was very well received.

Another great dakhani poet is Saeed Shaheedi who is known for his ashaar in "choti beher". His "Zindagi ka wo kuch bhi lutf utha nahi sakte intehaa-e-gham mein jo muskura nahi sakte" sung by Swati had the audience in raptures.

Pandit ji fired the final salvo, or so we thought, with "chaap tilak" but ended up saying "ab biTiya tum gao" prompting Swati to end the evening with the perennial finisher "aaj jaane ki zid na karo".

Historic monuments in the background and chaste urdu compering provided the right ambiance.The singing was interlaced with a tour of these monuments. A pleasant evening with gentle breeze added to the pleasure of this open air extravaganza.