36th annual Chandigarh Sangeet Sammelan

Dates: October 25th, 2013 to October 27th, 2013

Venue: Bal Bhavan, Sector 23, Chandigarh

Our 36th Annual Sangeet Sammelan, in collaboration with the Department of cultural affairs Haryana , concluded successfully on the 27th of Oct.2013.

On the first day (25th of Oct.) the audience witnessed two performances. We started the evening concert with a melodious flute recital by Debopriya Chatterjee and Suchismita (both disciples of the legendary Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasia ). Justice Gupta was requested to honour the artistes. They started their performance with a beautiful ‘badhat’ in Raag Jog. The ‘Vilambit’ composition was set to Jhaptaal, followed by a ‘Drut’ composition in Teentaal. The sound ‘taleem’ they have received from their Guru, was very evident in the way they presented the Raag. The ‘alaap’ was interwoven with fast moving note permutations which made their performance interesting for even those who did not understand too much about classical music. Their co-ordination was also worth appreciating. They concluded their performance with a Bengali folk ‘dhun’, which again was very appealing , and left the audience asking for more!

They were accompanied by Jaidev on the tabla.

The second performance was a vocal recital by Ranjani Ramachandran. She started her recital with a ‘Vilambit’ composition in Raag Nand, set to ‘Vilambit Teentaal’-‘Dhoondhe bare saiyan’, followed by a ‘drut’ composition in ‘Drut Ektaal’ which was composed by the late Pt.Ramashreya Jha – ‘Nand ghar anand ki badhai’. She elaborated on the fine nuances of the Raag, thus bringing out the flavour of Nand very beautifully and appropriately. Her soft, melodious voice was appealing and she definitely justified the ‘vidya’ received from both her Gurus – Ulhas Kashalkar and Veena Sahastrabudhe. After Nand, she sang two compositions in Raag Bageshwari – one set to ‘Teentaal’ – ‘Piharava ghar aavo’, and the other set to ‘Drut Ektaal -‘Vaegi vaegi aavo’. She concluded her recital with a Kabir bhajan in Raag Bhairavi, which had been composed by the late Pt. Kashinath Shankar Bodas – ‘Aaunga na jaaunga’. She was accompanied by Vinay Mishra on the Harmonium, Vinod Lele on the Tabla, and Neetu and Tarun Garg on the Tanpuras.

The compering for the evening concert was done by Nirupama Kishore. Before closing for the evening, we paused for a few seconds in silence, paying a tribute to the legendary singer – Mannadey ji, who passed away just a day before the concert. His contribution to the music world, not only towards film music, but also Raag based songs were remembered with great reverence.

Day 2 (26th Oct.) presented two vocal recitals. The first one was a beautiful rendition of Raag Shudh Kalyan by Nivedita Singh from Patiala. Pt. Ganesh Prasad was requested to honour the artistes. She started with a ‘Vilambit’ composition set to ‘Vilambit Ektaal’- ‘Jab hi ghar aave ‘followed by a ‘Madhya laya’ composition in ‘Panjabi Teentaal’ – ‘Ayo re man meetava’. She concluded the raag with a ‘Drut Khayal’ in ‘Drut Teentaal’ – ‘Aeri aali’. She continued her performance with a ‘Madhya laya’ composition in Jhaptaal in an unusual raag called ‘Khokhar’ – ‘Aaj anand mukh chandra’. It was a sweet sounding raag which had a mixed flavour of various ragas. She concluded this raag with a ‘Tarana’ in ‘Jhaptaal’. After this, on the request of her Guru, Pt. Ganesh Prasad ji, she sang one composition in Raag ‘Kaunsi Kanhda’ – ‘Banat ban aave’ set to ‘Teentaal’. She did full justice to the ‘Taaleem’ she has received from him. She presents a clear pitched voice with a purity of intention. She concluded her recital with a ‘Shabad’ from the ‘Gurbani’ – ‘Ram son kar preet re’, set to ‘Rupak taal’. Her sweet voice and beautiful rendition left the audience asking for more! She was accompanied on the Tabla by Jaidev and Vinay Mishra on the Harmonium. Amneet and Khushpreet accompanied her on the Tanpuras.

The second vocalist for the evening was Pt. Ganapati Bhat from Dharvar (Hasanagi). Representing Gwalior and Kairana gharana and being the disciple of (Late) Basavrao Rajguru, Pandit ji’s recital was indeed very much awaited. We had the hall almost full. Sh. R.S. Mittal (a senior lawyer of the High court) was requested to honour the artistes. He started with a ‘Vilambit khayal’ in Raag Shyam kalyan set to ‘Vilambit Ektaal’- ‘Neend na aavat piya’, followed by a ‘Madhya laya’ composition in ‘Teentaal’-‘Mora man har leenho’, and another one in ‘Drut Ektaal’- ‘Ja ja re jare’. One could see how effortlessly he was developing the raag and weaving beautiful note combinations and ‘layakari’. He continued his performance with another beautiful rendition of a ‘Madhya laya’ composition in Raag Desh -‘Tero hi dhyan dharat hoon’, set to ‘Teentaal’, followed by a Tarana in ‘Drut Ektaal’. He concluded with a ‘Madhya laya’ composition in Teentaal in Raag Bhopali-‘Tarapat raen dina’. His performance was a spiritually uplifting experience for some and definitely mesmerizing for all.

He was accompanied by Vinod Lele on the Tabla and Vinay Mishra on the Harmonium. Tarun Garg and Neetu Garg accompanied him on the Tanpuras. The evening session was compered by Nirupama Kishore.

Day Three(27th Oct.) was a morning session presenting Pt. Ganapati Bhat again, with the keen desire to hear some morning ragas by him. He started his recital with a Raag which is very special to their gharana – Raag Nat Bhairav. His first rendition was in ‘Vilambit Ektaal’-‘Goonj rahe’. Followed by a ‘Drut khayal’ in Teentaal-‘ Baaje damaru dum Shiv nache’. It was indeed beautifully rendered. After this, he continued his recital with Raag Jaunpuri. He sang two compositions – the first one was in ‘Madhya laya’-‘Payal baajan laage’ followed by the very popular ‘Choom chanan bichhua’, both compositions were set to Teentaal. He brought out the flavour of the raag very appropriately. He continued with a Meera bhajan-‘Raghunandan aage nachungee’. He concluded with Raag Bhairavi – first a bhajan – ‘Mero man Ramhi Ram ratei re’, followed by a Tarana in Teentaal. He proved to the audience what a great teacher his Guru must have been and how beautifully he imbibed his Guru’s ‘gayaki’ and’Taaleem’.

He was accompanied by Vinod Lele on the Tabla and Vinay Mishra on the Harmonium. Neetu Garg and Tarun Garg accompanied him on the Tanpuras. The morning session was compered by Vinita Gupta.