Like every other year, the Swara Samrat Festival enhanced the city’s musical mood by featuring some of the shining stars of Indian classical music from different corners of the country. The three-day festival was inaugurated with a sarod and sitar duet by Abhisek Lahiri (sarod) and Samanwaya Sarkar (sitar). Both artists were melodic in their rendition of Raga Puriya Kalyan with Sanju Sahai on the tabla. The alaap, jor and jhala were as well-coordinated as the gats. The senior vocalist, Ulhas Kashalkar, created a soulful ambience with Raga Chhayanat, adding his own intricacies and originality. The allure of Raga Pat Bihag in his voice was heightened with the tabla accompaniment by Suresh Talwalkar and Ajay Joglekar’s support on the harmonium.
A music ensemble consisting of Taufiq Qureshi (djembe), Bickram Ghosh (tabla), Rakesh Chaurasia (flute), V. Selvaganesh (kanjira) and Sanjoy Das (guitar) amalgamated ragas and percussion beautifully; they dedicated the performance to Ustad Zakir Hussain, who had been deeply connected with the festival in its earlier years. The vocalist, Tushar Dutta, presented Raga Bhimpalasi with his natural flair; this was followed by Raga Vrindavani Sarang and a bhajan. He was supported by Bivash Sanghai on the tabla and Hiranmay Mitra on the harmonium. Pratyush Banerjee added flourish to Raga Hamsakinkini on his sarod along with Ojas Adhya on the tabla. He played an interesting composition in Raga Charju Ki Malhar as well. Jayateerth Mevundi and Abhishek Raghuram blended Hindustani and Carnatic classical music in a way that was enchanting. They presented Raga Patdeep with virtuosity and variations that were enhanced by Debjit Patitundi on the tabla and Patri Satish Kumar on the mridangam. The tabla solo by Sukhvinder Singh ‘Pinky’ was enjoyable, while the dance recital by Rajendra Gangani and Rama Vaidyanathan was a visual treat (picture, right). Vaidyanathan’s Bharatanatyam excelled in highlighting the different parts of Radha and Krishna’s love while Gangani’s speed in Kathak was moving.
The musicality of the final evening was amplified by Raghunandan Panshikar, who brought out the quintessential beauty of Raga Shudh Sarang with Bharat Kamat on the tabla and Gourab Chatterjee on the harmonium. The senior artist, Dalia Raut, along with Abanti and Sohini Majumder, entertained the audience with the charm of a thumri, especially in the ragas, Mishra Khamaj and Mishra Bihag. Prasanta Dey Roy and Debashish Adhikary assisted the artists on the tabla and the harmonium, respectively.
Indrayuddh Majumder presented an interesting set of compositions with youngsters like Purab, Anushka, Rudrashish and Shashwata on the sarod, Soham and Anichit on the tabla, Shubhayan on the sitar and Debayan on the esraj. They played the ragas, Bhimpalasi, Durga and Mishra Piloo. Tejendra Narayan Majumder’s sarod recital (picture, left) was the main attraction of the soirée. He charmed the audience with Raga Hemant, emphasising the raga’s essence and depth. Majumder’s alaap captured the true flavour of the raga, which was reinforced by the variation in the tempo. The shift to Raga Medhavi was smooth and added a new dimension to the presentation. Swapan Chaudhuri’s accompaniment on the tabla was sparkling. He concluded with a ragamala, featuring, among others, Raga Zila Kafi. The festival concluded with a glorious Odissi performance by Sujata Mohapatra to a vocal recital by Kavita Krishnamurthy, who rarely sings semi-classical. The spectacular dancing and the mellifluous bhajan along with Tanmoy Bose on the tabla were truly a gift for the festival’s loyal audience.