Musicians come together to pay tribute to sitar maestro

HYDERABAD : Guru Abhivaadan, a classical music trilogy in honour of legendary musician Acharya Bimalendu Mukherjee, was presented by Kailas Sangeet Trust recently in a high-definition online streaming format.

This is the third in a series of annual tribute programmes to celebrate the legacy of this multi-faceted maestro who transformed the musical and artistic landscape of central India. His disciples include Padma Bhushan Pandit Budhaditya Mukherjee, ‘Surmani’ Vid. Anupama Bhagwat, Shri Avaneendra Sheolikar and Shri Asim Chowdhury.

The recording is available for 48 hours to those who bought the tickets. In the three-hour event, sitarist Mehtab Ali Niyazi of Bhendi Bazar Moradabad Gharana played Raag Tilak Kamod, commencing with a progressive and melodious Alaap, followed by a slow composition in teen taal. He concluded with a famous composition by Ustad Rais Khan in addha teen taal. The second concert was a sarod recital by the versatile Abhishek Borkar of Maihar Senia Gharana.  

Abhishek is well-known for blending both instrumental and vocal styles, and his initial training in vocal and tabla was evident in his layakaari and command of the gayaki style.  Abhishek began with Raga Patdeep - an elaborate alaap, followed by two compositions in teen taal. He then concluded with a short composition in Raga Maanj Khamaj.

Mehtab and Abhishek were accompanied by Unmesh Banerjee, disciple and son of Pandit Sunil Banerjee, a well-known exponent of the Farukkabad baaj.The finale of Guru Abhivaadan was a vocal recital by Pandit Raghunandan Panshikar with Bharat Kamath on tabla and Suyog Kundalkar on harmonium.

He began his vocal recital with a very soulful Sampurna Malkauns, followed by a composition in Raga Anand Malhar. He was accompanied on tabla by the distinguished Bharat Kamat, a long-time associate of the late legend Pandit Bhimsen Joshi. The mellifluous harmonium by Suyog Kundalkar complemented the concert with a flourish, accentuating the flow of notes with clarity.