Quiet, without media hype, Saptak festival attracts the biggest names in the world of music. This year, it features Pt Birju Maharaj, Pt Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Dr N Rajam, Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma, Begum Parveen Sultana, Pt Ulhas Kashalkar, Pt Rajan and Sajan Mishra, Pt Ajoy Chakrabarty, Ustad Shahid Parvez, Ustad Shujaat Hussain Khan and Pt Vishwamohan Bhatt. Popular artists like Gundecha Brothers, Shubha Mudgal, Kaushiki Chakravorty, Malini Awasthi, Purbayan Chatterji, Amaan and Ayaan Ali Bangash, and Rahul Sharma are also performing.
The Carnatic tradition is represented by a jugalbandi between flautist Pt Ronu Mazumdar with Vidwan Mysore Manjunath on the violin, and a recital by Vidushi Bombay Jayashri Ramnath. She mused, “In North India, unlike in the South, where we have the December music season, there are a few key music festivals in different cities that dominate the world of music. Amongst these is Saptak at which I have been privileged to perform in the past. I appreciate that platforms in the North are becoming available to Carnatic musicians; at the end of the day, music is music.”
There has always been a strong link with percussion; this year the festival is dedicated to the memory of Ustad Allah Rakha, and both his sons Ustad Fazal Qureshi and Ustad Taufiq Qureshi will be performing solos, while Ustad Zakir Hussain will be accompanying Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma . Senior disciple Pt Yogesh Samsi will be accompanying Ustad Shahid Parvez and Kaushiki Chakravorty . Pt Nayan Ghosh will be performing a tabla jugalbandi with his immensely talented young teenage son Ishaan. Young Vinay Mundhe will present a solo tabla recital, and Shubham Ugale, a pakhawaj solo,
Saptak was established by late tabla maestro Pt Nandan Mehta, and his sitar playing wife Vidushi Manju Mehta. Apart from the annual festival, the institution holds concerts throughout the year in Ahmedabad and other cities in Gujarat. It also has an impressive musical archive with some really valuable old recordings of the masters of yesteryear, which are released periodically as commercially available cds. Saptak also runs a school teaching classical music.
Manju Mehta spoke of the logistic difficulties in handling a festival of this scale, without any financial support from anyone, nor even logistic support from an outside event manager. The students of the Saptak school volunteer to look after the performing artists and handle other organisational details she adds.
Artists are, of course, excited as always by performing at Saptak. In the words of Pt Ulhas Kashalkar, “It’s like an annual pilgrimage for me, I have been performing there consecutively for the last 10-15 years, I don’t even remember how long. Pt Nandan Mehta himself has also accompanied me on tabla. Saptak is today a unique festival giving a platform to young artists as well as offering listeners the best there is. I hear people from all over the world are now coming to Saptak knowing they will hear quality music”. Purbayan Chatterji concurs, “I always go back to my first performance at Saptak – Pt Kishan Maharaj ji had recommended my name to Nandan Mehta ji and I was fortunate to play with Pt Kumar Bose ji. Saptak has always been like a special place for “hazri” in the concert calendar. The stage has been graced by all the greats so just sitting there makes you soar and rise to the occasion!”
The fact that the festival is run by artists has also mattered; without hesitation artists accommodate on remuneration, dates and other logistics. Dr N Rajam recalls her old association with the family. “Nandan ji used to come very often to Banaras when I was living there, as he was a disciple of Pt Kishan Maharaj. I have very fond memories of him, and I have been playing at Saptak now for years. Every alternate year I perform. This year I will be playing a solo, but in the past I have played with my daughter, my granddaughters, and even all four of us together.” Saptak is on till January 13 in Ahmedabad.
Shailaja Khanna