The social aspects of festivals have over the years become increasingly important. One such occasion is the Bijoya Sammilani, the exchange of pleasantries on the conclusion of Durga Puja, the most important Hindu religious festival of Bengal. At the ITC Sangeet Research Academy, this has been celebrated with a special recital with the distribution of sweetmeats and savouries. This year’s programme, which took place on October 22, featured performances by some of the Academy’s Scholars.

Pinaki Bose began the evening with two bhajans. This was followed by Manali Bose’s performance. She began with a Durga Stuti followed by a Bengali Ragaprodhan song written by Shri Sanjay Chakarabarty. She also sang a Bengali composition of late Pandit Jnan Prakash Ghosh and another written by Gauri Prasanna Majumdar and set to tune by Pandit Arun Bhaduri. She concluded with a Nanak bhajan composed by Pandit Arun Bhaduri. The evening concluded with a sarod recital by Abir Hossain who began with alap, jod, jhala and gat in Raga Pilu. On request, he concluded with Raga Bhairavi.

On September 8, 2008, Ustad Nasiruddin Saami of Karachi, Pakistan, performed at the Academy auditorium. Born in a family of classical vocalists who have been practising their art for more than 730 years, his ancestor Miyan Samath was trained by Hazrat Ameer Khusrau himself and was connected to the Durbar of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. Another great personality Qutub Baksh alias Ustad Tanras Khansahib was the musician in the court of Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar.

Beginning his training at the age of 10 from his great-uncle Sardar Khan in Lahore, after 5 years Ustad Saami moved to Karachi and trained under his uncles Iftikhar Ahmed and Piaray Khan. His main mentor was Ustad Munshi Raziauddin. A strict follower in the style of his family tradition, his ancestors founded the Delhi Gharana and followed tradition - keeping ‘sur’ as the most important component of singing.

He began the evening’s performance with khayals in Raga Multani. This was followed by a sadra in Raga Adana. He concluded his performance with two interesting taranas. At the interactive session that followed, he pointed out that Hindustani Raga Sangeet is a part of a common heritage because it originated in a place that was neither India nor Pakistan. However, he admits that while the classical music scenario in Pakistan from 1947-1977 was encouraging; the situation gradually deteriorated Nevertheless, he feels that in the last decade things have been looking up, much of the credit going to the “All Pakistan Music Conference”, which has actively promoted classical music. Not only has it bridged the gap between India and Pakistan by inviting Indian artistes to Pakistan, but it has also restored faith among former listeners in Pakistan who are once again eager to attend these programmes.

Not surprisingly, for him the Ustad-Shagird relation is sacred. “The most important thing is the understanding. The Shagird has to read his Ustad’s mind and understand what he wants to convey,” he explains. That evening he was accompanied on the tabla by Shri Gopal Mishra, a faculty member of the Academy, while his sons provided harmonium, tanpura and vocal support.
 

Indian culture places Gurus who impart knowledge, at par with the Gods. Acquiring knowledge forms the basis of a man’s future, so worshipping a Guru is like worshipping truth, knowledge and invaluable experiences. Guru Purnima is a special day celebrated on the full moon day of the month of Ashadh, to pay homage to all Gurus. It dates back to the time of 'gurukuls' or 'ashrams' of ancient India. The day is also known as Vyas Purnima in remembrance of the great sage Ved Vyas, the Guru who wrote the great epic 'Mahabharata', the 18 'Puranas' and classified the 'Vedas' of the Hindu religion. On this day it is customary for students to visit their elders, teachers and guides, in order to show respect to them.

At the ITC Sangeet Research Academy, the only Sangeet Gurukul of its kind in India, where knowledge is transmitted in the tradition of the guru-shishya parampara, celebrations for Guru Purnima were organised at a special Wednesday recital on July 30, 2008. All the gurus were felicitated, with a special offering to the senior-most, Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan, who is presently celebrating his 100th year. Inaugurating the celebrations, Dr Vidyadhar Vyas, Executive Director, said that there is a great difference between a teacher or instructor and a Guru. The Guru ensures that the shishya can imbibe not only the knowledge he imparts, but is also motivated with the necessary attitudes so that he can continue to excel and improve himself. When the time comes, he can also become a Guru and can continue to preserve and propagate the legacy that has been so carefully and meticulously handed down to him.

The Executive Director felicitated Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan, senior-most Guru and Vidushi Dipali Nag, adviser, Scientific Research Dept, while the scholars felicitated Padmabhushan Vidushi Girija Devi, Vidushi Malavika Kanan, Pandit Buddhadev Das Gupta, Pandit Falguni Mitra, Pandit Arun Bhaduri, Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty, Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar, Ustad Mashkoor Ali Khan as well as Pandit Vidyadhar Vyas, himself a renowned Guru. This was followed by a vocal recital by Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan. He presented khayals in Ragas Miyan Malhar and Nat Malhar, a chaturang in Raga Rageshree, a Bhojpuri geet and a bhajan. He was accompanied on the tabla by Shri Gopal Misra, while Shri Jyoti Goho provided harmonium support. Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan’s disciples played the tanpuras and gave vocal support. This was the first time that Guru Purnima was celebrated at the Academy.
 

On June 18, 2008, there was a santoor recital.by Pandit Ulhas Bapat of Mumbai. He played alap, jod, jhala and gats in Raga Poorva Kalyan, followed by gats in Ragas Bihagda and Janasammohini. He concluded with a Raga Sagar. Shri Samar Saha provided tabla accompaniment.

June 25, 2008, brought ITC-SRA Guru Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar to the dais. He presented khayals in Ragas Lalitagauri, Surdasi Malhar and Paraj. He was accompanied by Shri Gopal Mishra on the tabla and Shri Jyoti Goho on the harmonium while ITC-SRA scholars Samarth Nagarkar and Sameehan Kashalkar provided vocal support.

The influence of Hindustani Raga Sangeet on other forms of popular music in India and the fact that these music systems are flourishing side-by-side with Raga Sangeet is a well-known fact. In an attempt to understand these systems, find out their relation with Raga Sangeet and enrich our overall understanding of music, a series of programmes are being organised at the Academy.

The first such programme was held on May 8, 2008, celebrating the birthday of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. Pandit Buddhadev Das Gupta conducted the proceedings that evening. He has composed several bandishes that were inspired by Tagore songs. Accompanied by Pandit Das Gupta’s explanations, some of his inspired compositions were played by his disciple, scholar Smarajit Kumar Sen, while scholar Manali Bose sang the Tagore songs which inspired these compositions. Tabla accompaniment was provided by Chandrabhan Srisundar.

Another evening commemorating the birthday of Kazi Nazrul Islam, poet-musician-revolutionary-philosopher, was held on May 26, 2008. Vidushi Dipali Nag’s career in Bengali music was launched by the poet’s composition “Megho meduro baroshay”, inspired by the bandish “Morey mandira ab lo” on Raga Jayjaiwanti. The record received an unprecedented response. After she recounted her experiences with the poet, songs were sung by Sucheta Ganguly, Sandip Bhattacharjee, Rupashree Bhattacharya, Samarth Nagarkar and Pandit Arun Bhaduri. Sandip Kumar Ray Chaudhuri provided tabla accompaniment.

The first Wednesday of April featured a sarod recital by Shri Kalyan Mukherjee. He has been trained by such virtuosos as Ustad Bahadur Khan and Pandit Ajoy Sinha Roy. He began with alap, jod, jhala in Rag Marwa and concluded with gats in Raga Puriya Dhanashree. He was ably accompanied on the tabla by Shri Gopal Mishra

The last Wednesday in April featured a vocal recital by internationally acclaimed writer Shri Amit Chaudhuri. Initially trained by Pandit Govind Prasad Jaipurwale of the Kunwar Shyam gharana, he was later guided by Pandit A. Kanan He began his performance with khayals in Raga Puriya Kalyan. He concluded with Raga Jogeshwari. He was accompanied on the tabla by Samar Saha while Rupashree Bhattacharya played the harmonium.

In the second Wednesday in March, Ustad Iqbal Ahmed Khan presented a vocal recital. He presented khayals in Ragas anand shri, Jaitashree, puriya dhanashri, Basant Bahar, Suha Bahar, Adana Bahar, Nayaki Bahar, Madhu Bahar and Shudh Bahar. He concluded with a thumri in Raga Pilu. He was accompanied by Shri Sndip Kumar Ray Chaudhuri on the tabla and Shri Jyoti Gho on the harmonium.

The third Wednesday in March featured a vocal recital by Shrimati Rita Ganguly. She began with a thumri in Raga Kaushik Dhani, then presenting a hori in Mishra Kafi, a thumri in Mishra Kafi and finally a dadra in Raga Bhairavi. She was accompanied by Shri Sandip Ray Chaudhuri on the tabla, Shri Debashish Haldar on the sarangi and Shrimati Rupashri Bhattacharya on the harmonium.

The last Wednesday of March brought the senior-most Guru of the Academy Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan to the dais. He began his vocal recital with khayals in Raga Chhaya Bihag, followed by khayals in Ragas Bhupali and Shankara. He also presented a hori in Raga Khamaj and a chaiti. He was ably accompanied by Shri Gopal Mishra on the tabla and Shrimati Rupashree Bhattacharya on the harmonium.

Sangeet Natya Vaibhav

On March 23, 2008, at Uttam Manch, Kolkata, ITC Sangeet Research Academy organised a programme specially designed with the purpose of presenting about 21 Marathi Stage Songs from popular Sangeet Nataks of Maharashtra. The presentation was by Dr Ravindra Ghangurde, Shrimati Vandana Ghangurde and their troupe from Pune, Naadbrahma. The presentation was in proper costume and make-up along with the accompaniment of organ and tabla, which is typical to the art form. The troupe members were Shekhar Vechlekar (singer, actor), Sanjay Phagare (tabla), Kedar Bhagwat (organ), Pranav Kulkarni (tanpura), Mandar Karulkar (Compere), Siddheshwar Kokare (Drapery), Suhas Kondvilkar (make-up).

For easier understanding, the commentary was in Hindi. In the tradition of Sangeet Nataks, the ‘Nandi’ from Sangeet Manapaman provided the prelude, after which the ‘Ish-stavan’ from Sangeet Soubhadra was presented. This was followed by a special item ‘Sutradhar & Nati’, also from Sangeet Soubhadra. Excerpts of the dialogues from the Sangeet Nataks from which each song was selected, provided the background for each song. In many compositions, the original classical bandish or folk song or kirtan was also presented. Excerpts from Sanshay Kallor, Katyar Kaljat Ghusali, Ranadundubhi, Matsyagandha and others were also presented. During an interactive session the following afternoon, Dr Ghangurde presented the history of the art form and its present-day status in Maharashtra. The session was attended by enthusiastic members of the audience, the press and gurus and scholars of the Academy.

Photo Gallery of the event

Navonmesh Utsav

On March 1 and 2, 2008, an event aimed at presenting ITC-SRA scholars and invited young, promising artistes was held at G D Birla Sabhaghar, Kolkata. The first evening entitled ‘Jugalbandi Jod’ featured 3 duets. The first was a violin and flute duet by Milind Raikar and Abhay Phagde, accompanied on the tabla by Vinod Lele. Playing in the gayakee ang, they introduced Raga Puriya Kalyan and presented ektala and teentala bandishes. They concluded with a dhun in Mishra Manj Khamaj.

The second duet was by ITC-SRA scholars Arshad Ali and Sandip Bhattacharya, disciples of Ustad Mashkoor Ali Khan. They presented khayals in Raga Bihag “Chinta na kara re” in jhaptala, followed by “Rajan ke raja maharaja” in teentala. They were accompanied on the tabla by Gopal Mishra while Jyoti Goho provided harmonium support.

The concluding performance was a sitar and cello duet by Subhendra Rao and Saskia Rao de Haas. They presented alap, jod, gats and jhala in Raga Jog, followed by a dhun in Raga Khamaj. Samar Saha provided tabla accompaniment.

The second evening entitled ‘Stree Gaurav’ commemorated International Women’s Day, featuring lady musicians. Chitrangana Agle Reshwal presented a pakhawaj solo. Her presentation included some Nana Panse gharana jhala, farmaishi chakradhar, dhirkit variations from tabla repertoire and a paran with 27 ‘dha’. Nagma in Raga Mishra Mand was played by Hiranmay Mitra.

The second item was a vocal jugalbandi by ITC-SRA scholars Sucheta Ganguly and Manali Bose, disciples of Pandit Arun Bhaduri. They began with khayals in Raga Basant “Nabi ke darbar”, “Eri eri gaili gaili” in ektala and “Piya sang khel” in teentala. They then presented “Ayo ri basant” in Raga Kaunsidhwani. They were accompanied on the tabla by Tarak Saha while Rupashree Bhattacharya provided harmonium support.

The concluding item was a solo Hawaiian guitar recital by Kamala Shankar. She presented Raga Gorakh Kalyan, accompanied on the tabla by Vinod Lele. All the performances were proof that audiences of Hindustani Raga Sangeet have much to look forward to.
 

February 2008

Lec-Dems at the Academy

The week starting February 18, 2008, proved to be a week of great activity at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy.

Prof Clarence Barlow who holds the Corwin Endowed Chair of Composition at the University of California, Santa Barbara gave a lecture-demonstration on Tuesday 19, 2008. A renowned Western music composer, he was born in Kolkata and spent several years of his childhood and youth learning and later teaching at the Calcutta School of Music. Developing an interest in Hindustani music, he composed seven pieces - mainly rondos and fugues, using Raga music. These were presented and discussed with the scholars of the Academy.

On Friday 22, 2008, Prof Arun Chanda of The Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA, a visiting Fulbright Scholar at the Sardar Patel University, Gujarat, presented a lecture-demonstration on his contemporary compositions. Trained in the Western classical tradition, he is a composer of contemporary music and holds the view that today’s standards of music and non-music are not sacrosanct. What is not considered musical today may well become music in the future. The scholars of the Academy had an interesting afternoon of music listening followed by discussions.

Both the visitors were delegates at the International Symposium ‘Frontiers of Research on Speech and Music’ (FRSM 2008), organised by the Scientific Research Dept., ITC Sangeet Research Academy in collaboration with CDAC, Kolkata, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata and Sir C V Raman Centre for Physics and Music, Jadavpur University, Kolkata.

In the second Wednesday in January, Steve Gorn presented a flute recital. A disciple of the late bansuri master Shri Gour Goswami of Kolkata, he has also studied with the late Ustad Z. M. Dagar and continues his studies of the bansuri with Pandit Raghunath Seth of Mumbai, whom he often accompanies in concert. He is a member of the Darbari Ensemble which features Pandit Ramesh Mishra, Ms. Allyn Miner and Pandit Samir Chatterjee. He began his recital with alp, jod, gat and jhala in Raga Marwa, followed by gat in Madhukauns, concluding with a thumri. He was ably accompanied by Shri Gopal Mishra.