Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt plays the Mohan Veena at RIMS in Ranchi. Picture by Ashok Karan

Ranchi, Feb. 26: For a change the students of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) sat quietly absorbing lessons not on the human body, but on the soul.

So lost in the magic of the moment that their professors, also present at the concert by Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, must have envied the Mohan Veena maestro for the command he had over their students. Bhatt not only enthralled the students, faculty members and the music lovers assembled there, with his music, which has won him awards across the country and world, including the Grammy, the Sangeet Natak Akademi and Padma Shri, but also explained to them the various nuances of the notes.

To make their experience richer, Bhatt talked about the many aspects of Indian music, the basic concepts behind it and its vastness. All of which the audience heard with rapt attention, at the first ever SpicMackey organised programme at the premier medical institute, in association with the sports and cultural society of RIMS.

Bhatt began his recital with Poorvi, an evening raga, in which he presented alaap, jod, followed by vilambit gat set to ek taal and then drut gat in teen taal. By the audience reaction to the notes and numbers he followed them up with, it was clear he had won over for classical music many new lovers that evening.

He was ably supported on the tabla by Calcutta-based Subrata Bhattacharya who is a disciple of Shankar Ghosh. This, was exactly the kind of reaction SpicMackey wanted, whom the state sports, culture and youth affairs secretary Nagendra Nath Sinha while inaugurating the event had called a ?natural partner? of his department. They both wanted to target the youth to spread cultural awareness, he said, adding that the government will provide full support to the cause.

A cause which Bhatt said had his full support and he urged the youth to to take up the task of preserving and promoting India?s heritage. ?It?s the youth who have to take care of this task of popularising our culture,? he said. SpicMacay?s state chapter chairperson Binay Sarawagi announced holding of a state-level festival of classical and folk music and dance during July-August.

Shital Malua, secretary of the sports and cultural society of RIMS, said his society will keep up its collaboration with SpicMackey to organise more such programmes. Which is one promise it seems, going by the standing ovation given to the musician as he concluded with Kesaria Balam Padharo Mhare Desh, they will definitely keep.