The piety of raga Yaman peaked when the crystal-clear notes of super-fast taans sparkled like the flickering lamps that adorned the entire temple premises of Dakshineshwar on the eve of the festival of light. Hailed as a child prodigy during the Nineties, Arshad Ali Khan, just out of his teens, has found a new voice and the confidence of youth with telling effect.

Surrounded by the surging crowd of devotees and other distracting elements, the young vocalist?s contemplative badhat, with an eye on note development from every conceivable angle in true Kirana style, was almost like a soliloquy steeped in melody. The mood in vilambit ektal urged Gopal Misra?s broad-faced tabla to remain sedate till the gamak-laden sargams came as links to jet-propelled aakar-taans followed by a beautiful tarana. Rupashri Bhattacharya?s fingers on the harmonium improvised with lightning speed.

One could not help wonder about the fate of a tabla solo slated as the commencing item of this classical soiree in such a melee; but Shubhankar Banerjee, accompanied by Hiranmay Mitra?s harmonium, gave a spirited recital which coaxed him to include the bols of pakhawaj in parans and effects of dhaak in relas. Purbayan Chatterjee, the concluding artiste, presented an emotive Bageshri on the sitar.