Classical Music Mahotsav Begins: Sawai Gandharva, Day 1, Notes of celebration, romance, & tributes to Pandit Bhimsen Joshi

Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia and Pandit Vijay Ghate perform on the first day of the Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav, in Pune on Wednesday. Arul Horizon

A soft and melodious rendition of raag Bhimpalasi on the shehnai, along with the energetic rhythm of the chaturangi, set the tone for the 65th edition of the Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav, which began on Wednesday.

The classical music festival, being held at the New English School in Ramanbaug, will go on till Sunday.

The festival began with the performance of well-known shehnai player Madhukar Dhumal, accompanied by Omkar Dhumal and Vijay Delbansi on shehnai and Bharat Kamat on tabla, who set the mood with a mesmerising composition based on raag Bhimpalasi.

Taking the stage next was Dr Vijay Rajput, who was born in Delhi and now lives in England, where he teaches at the Newcastle University as a guest lecturer. Rajput, who got the opportunity to learn under the late Pandit Bhimsen Joshi for a while, recalled his early days with the maestro.

Rajput said while he wasn’t a full-time shishya (student), he kept travelling to Pune, from 1991 till Joshi’s death in 2011, to take lessons from the legendary vocalist. The late artiste was a disciplinarian, said Rajput, adding that he had found the guru-shishya tradition, and the discipline it entailed, missing in the west. Dedicating his first-ever performance on the revered stage to his late guru, he called it a “rare honour” to perform at the Mahotsav.

Rajput chose three compositions for his debut — the first in the melodic raag Puriya Kalyan, usually played from evening to night, then raag Pilu for a semi-classical hori, More Kanha Jo Aae Palat Ke, and ended his performance with a bhajan, Raghuvar tumko meri laaj, which had a few audience members up on their feet in appreciation. He was accompanied by Avinash Dighe (harmonium), Ravindrakumar Sohoni (tabla), Professor David Clark (tanpura and vocal), Sunil Rawat (tanpura) and Vasant Garud (taal).

While the first two artistes managed to sway the audiences with their melodious acts, it was Pandit Debashish Bhattacharya on his chaturangi, a slide guitar with 24 strings, who took the day’s musical proceedings to another level.

A disciple of Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty and Pandit Brij Bhushan Kabra, Bhattacharya’s power-packed instrument garnered instant approval from the audience. The artiste who was accompanied by Shubhashish Bhattacharya (tabla) and Akhilesh Gundecha (pakhawaj), chose raag Madhuvanti for his first performance on the stage.

At the end of his performance, Bhattacharya also recalled his association with Bhimsen Joshi, right from the first time he heard the maestro’s voice on the only transistor in his village, to the time he performed before the late artiste during a music festival in 1998. “I asked my father who it was when I heard Panditji’s voice on the transistor. My father said ‘that’s the voice of God’,” recalled Bhattacharya, who ended the performance with Baje re muraliya baje, originally sung by Joshi, as a tribute to the late artiste.

After Bhattarcharya’s energetic performance, the veteran vocalist duo of Pandit Rajan Mishra and Sajan Mishra, from the Benaras Gharana, graced the stage, as the audience cheered them on. Often pausing their music, they explained the poetry behind the compositions, and kept the audiences enthralled through a vilambit ek taal composition in raag Puriya, followed by the teen taal composition Mai to kari aai piya sang rang raliya.

The drut ektaal bandish, Piyaa sang lagi lagan, which followed next, recieved the maximum applause from the audience. Accompanied by Dr Arvind Thatte on harmonium, Shantilal Shaha on tabla, Vinay Chitrav and Suhas Ode on tanpura, Rajan – Sajan next chose raag Sohni, presenting a composition Aai rutu naveli. They ended their performance with a Guru Nanak bhajan Jagat me jhooti dekhi preet, eliciting rousing applause from the crowd.

To end the day on a high note, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia was the last artiste to take to the stage for a mesmerising flute performance. He was accompanied by Pandit Vijay Ghate on tabla, Pandit Bhawani Shankar (pakhawaj), and Debopriya and Saurab Vartak on basuri.

The maestro also inaugurated a theme calendar — ‘SwarMaitra 2018’ — by photographer Satish Paknikar. Paying a light-hearted compliment to the photographer, Chaurasia said while people often told him that he was getting old, the pictures in the calendar, in fact, made him look very young. Following the light banter, the maestro started his performance, and chose a night raag, Bihag, one of celebration and of romance.

The second day of the festival promises to be equally interesting: it will include a performance by vocalist Bhuvanesh Komkali, grandson of Kumar Gandharv, and he will be followed by a violin performance by Kala Ramnath. Kaushiki Chakraborty, a famous vocalist of Patiala Gharana and the disciple and daughter of Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty, will also perform on the same day, followed by veteran vocalist Pandit Jasraj of Mewati Gharana.