Christmas celebrations continued at Calcutta Club with a weekend of classical music and dance on December 26 and 27, as part of Calcutta Club Classical Music Conference 2015, presented by Centuryply, in association with The Telegraph. 
Two vocalists, a sitar maestro and two Kuchipudi exponents kept the audience riveted at the festival, held on the club lawn.

The conference began on Saturday with performances by Kuchipudi dancers Yamini and Bhavana Reddy, followed by vocalist Manjiri Asnare-Kelkar. Vocalist Shaukat Hussain Khan and then Shahid Parvez Khan on the sitar took the stage the next day, bringing the conference to a befitting end.

“Calcutta Club has been organising this classical odyssey for the past seven-eight years, with the help of The Telegraph. It has always been high-class entertainment with performances by internationally famous artistes,” said Indrajit Roy, chairman, social and cultural sub-committee, Calcutta Club.

Lyrical and majestic, the two aspects of Kuchipudi were portrayed by sisters Bhavana and Yamini Reddy. Conceptualised by Yamini, the performance is choreographed by their parents Raja and Radha Reddy. “We took the conflicting aspects of Shiva and Vishnu and tried to show that at the end, duality gives way to unity. Ultimately, they are one. We wanted to bring out the contrast as well as the unity between Nataraja and Natavara,” said Yamini.

Shaukat Hussain Khan, a vocalist from the Agra-Atrauli gharana, began his performance with raga Jaijaiwanti on Sunday evening, followed by a rendition of Bande Nandkumar, a song vocalist Faiyaz Khan was known for. 

Shahid Parvez, who belongs to the Etawah gharana of musicians, played compositions in raga Jhinjhoti followed by a dhun in raga Mishra Khamaj. “Every individual has the right to listen to any genre of music. My request to the younger generation is — please try and listen to classical music too. They should not forget our tradition,” the sitar maestro told t2.

Manjiri Asnare-Kelkar, who hails from Nasik, is one of the prominent vocalists of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana. She presented a traditional bandish in raga Jhinjhoti, followed by a composition in raga Basant Kedar.

Wonderful performances, beautiful venue and happy people made the last weekend of the year really special. We are very happy and proud to be associated with a classical music conference like this. — Ronit Mitra, deputy general manager, marketing, Centuryply.    

The music conference was perfect for a chilly winter evening like this. We look forward to many more such performances. Shaukat Hussain was lovely. The range of his voice is amazing. Sitar is something I love, so I enjoyed Shahid Parvez’s performance the most. — Sayati Das, sociology student of Presidency University

What they loved

I am here with my mother. I was taken in by Bhavana’s performance... that was the highlight of my experience. I have heard a lot about Yamini Reddy... really spellbound.

— Mrinalini Majumdar, a lawyer and dancer

I am here to listen to the sitar. I train under my mother’s guidance. I love classical music. 

— Rajarshi Sarkar, Class III, Garden High School

I am a hardcore Shahid Parvez fan. I have come to Calcutta Club only to listen to him. I have been to his live performances quite a number of times earlier. 

— Soumabha Paul, MTech student

It was an amazing experience. Classical music programmes are very rare. Thanks to the club and The Telegraph for organising this event. My personal favourites were Shaukat Hussain Khan and the Reddy sisters.

— Bharati Chatterjee, homemaker

Since I train in Indian classical music, I was very excited to attend this music conference. I absolutely love Shahid Parvez and his sitar. We rarely get to listen to such stalwarts live, hence this was a great opportunity for classical music lovers.

— Anwesha Biswas, Class XII, Shri Shikshayatan School

Light classical music has its own charm. Being here and experiencing it live, with this kind of winter cheer, I think is fantastic. 

— Raji Ramaswamy, SVP and Managing Partner of J. Walter Thompson Kolkata

Text: Sibendu Das
Pictures: B. Halder & Pabitra Das