Unusual competence: Arif Khan on stage (Picture by Shambhu Hazra)

Two grandsons of two maestros caught the eye of seasoned listeners at the three-evening Antiquity Festival of Fine Arts that paid tribute to Ustad Keramatullah Khan Sahab: Arif Khan and Raza Ali Khan, the grandsons of Keramat Sahab and Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan Sahab respectively. The recitals by the two at the mosquito-infested Science City Auditorium were important for two different reasons.

Connoisseurs were all eyes and ears for young Arif not only because he played peshkar, quaidas (including ones by Ahmedjan Thirakawa and Keramat Khan) and the famed char diwari gat of the Farukhabad Gharana with unusual competence, but also because his ringing right hand and seemingly tireless left hand assured continuity of the gharana mainline. Surely, the grandfather would have been happy to see Arif play the way he did at the outset of the session on February 22. Ustad Keramatullah Khan himself used to have a phenomenal left hand with which he could produce certain sounds normally emanated by the right hand. Raza Ali?s recital was of special interest because he has not performed publicly in the city for a long time. His 29-minute khayals in Puria at the start of the February 23 session not only condensed the magnificence of the raga into two brief classic Punjabi khayals, but also were in perfect pitch despite shooting up to the ati tar saptak sadaj twice.

The organisers, however, did not realise the significance of these two recitals. Arif was given 30 minutes and played for 37; Raza Ali was given 40 and sang for 29! Arif, after all, is very young, but what about Raza?

From the purely musical angle, however, the best performance of the festival was the sitar recital by Ustad Rais Khan and his son Farhan on February 23. The alap (15 minutes), ati vilambit (29 minutes), drut (32 minutes) and ati drut teental gatkari in Bageshree were the most engrossing sitar recital heard for long in Calcutta. While the alap was almost Seniya in simplicity and purity, the gatkari displayed khayal ? ang sitar baaz at its best since the heyday of the late Ustad Vilayat Khan. Farhan is definitely the most promising sitar player of his age group: his taiyaari is matchless. Ustad Sabir Khan played solid thheka and long audience-applauded rounds with them. Ustad Rais Khan?s uncle, Ustad Imrat Khan, had played the same raga with his usual artistry on the opening evening along with alap and gatkari in Abhogi Kanada.

The best khayal recital of the festival was that of Rashid Khan in Yaman on the first evening. However, he unnecessarily altered the mukhda of the traditional vilambit khayal composition he sang. Parveen Sultana?s khayals in the same raga the next evening were quite good for her but neither as engrossing nor as good as Rashid?s. The Hansadhvani tarana that she sang next not only included the Yaman phrase Ni Re Ga, but also Pa Re Ga and Ga Pa Re Ga which ought have been Pa Ga-Re and Ga Pa Re Ga-Re. Pandit Jasraj?s Jaijawanti khayals were packed with typical tonal drama and vocal gimmicks.

Pandit Birju Maharaj?s Kathak recital seemed to show that he was still the best in his field while Sabir Khan?s dance tabla sangat was the best he has produced for a long time. Birju Maharaj?s layakari and ghungroo work still remains matchless.