Kalyani Deshmukh, Dhande regale

Nagpur: Renowned vocalist Kalyani Deshmukh and santoor artiste Valmiki Dhande were in full flow as they presented various ragaas that were soothing to the ear before a receptive audience at Scientific Society Hall, on Tuesday.
The programme was organized by Swar Sadhana, Sanskar Bharati and Vidarbha Gaurav Pratishthan in memory of Pt Prabhakar Deshkar who promoted classical music all through his life and saw many a star rising. The event coincided with Deshmukh and Dhande getting the ‘Rajya Sanskruti Puraskar’ recently.

Present at the programme were president of Vanarai Foundation Girish Gandhi, social worker Kanchan Gadkari, music director Jagdish Tekade and Balasaheb Purohit.

Deshmukh began with ‘Lage na mora jiya’ in raag Bihag, based on ‘shringar raas’ and wove the magic of her melodious voice with aalaps. She then presented ‘Piya mora manwa’ in madhya laya teen taal, followed by ‘Piharwa mori maanle tu’ in teen taal and tarana. Her recitation of Sant Kabir’s bhajan ‘Rehna nahin des birana’ was an icing on the cake with the spectators relishing the beauty of the composition.

Born and brought up in musical environment, Deshmukh had her initial training from her father Pt Manohar Barve. She has performed in Kalidas, Savai Gandharv and Kundghol festivals. She is also known for singing abhangs, natyasangeet and thumri.

Deshmukh said, “Nobody can replace the love and support that I got from my family. I feel honoured today as this city has always encouraged me.”

Taking the stage after Deshmukh, Dhande said he was initially a tabla player and santoor was his hobby. Later, he took to santoor and had his lessons under the tutelage of legendary Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma. He then learnt ‘raagdari’ from Pt Kartik Kumar. Dhande presented Puriya Kalyan and regaled the audience with the moods of this raag like peace, pathos and joy. His pieces on santoor were well-received.