Acharya Chinmoy Lahiri was among the doyens of Bengal who had a birth centenary last year. The proficient vocalist left a mark in every sphere of Indian classical music, especially in tappas, thumris and Bengali ragpradhan songs. Sampuran dedicated an evening to the memory of Sangeet Acharya Pandit Chinmoy Lahiri at Gyan Manch recently; it doubled as a pre-Holi celebration. The evening started with a group performance by Sampuran’s students under the supervision of Anirban and Diptam. They performed Raga Khamaj, a bandishi thumri in taal addha, a drut composition in teentaal followed by a tarana in ada chautaal. They concluded with Meera Bai’s “Hori khelat hai Girdhari” and “Bhari bhari bhari pichkaari, sab sakhiya hari ko maran douri”. The group was well synchronized and ably supported on the harmonium by Anirban and Diptam, and on percussion by Nabarun Kumar Dutta and Abir Mukherjee.

The tabla solo by Subhajyoti Guha was enjoyable; the artist selected teentaal for his recital and presented the core attributes of the taal with his spontaneous expertise along with Sanatan Goswami on the harmonium.

Young vocalists Anirban and Diptam began with a hori based on Raga Sohini set to addha. Their presentation was attractive. Next, they performed “Dakshinatya Basant”, a Chaturang set to the rare ashta jhaptaal (8.5 beats). Their performance concluded with a hori based on Raga Pilu with a rhythmic variety of deepchandi and kaharwa. Ujjwal Bharti was perfect on the tabla as was Debaprosad Dey on harmonium support.

The evening ended with a performance by Mandira Lahiri, a sincere follower of the Acharya. She begun her recital with a hori thumri based on Raga Mishra Kafi. The melody and skill of her presentation enchanted the audience. She continued with other horis like “Mohey chero naa” based on Raga Kalawati set to addha and a Bengali song, “Abirer arekti naam prem”, composed by Acharya Chinmoy Lahiri. Her final presentation was a hori based on Raga Pilu. She spread the musical flavours of Holi among the listeners and elevated the mood of the evening. Parimal Chakraborty on the tabla and Sanatan Goswami on the harmonium gave her able support till the end.