Arpita Bandyopadhyay’s solo Rabindrasangeet recital at Sisir Mancha (February 1) was noteworthy for its high merits and efficiency. Presented by Pratiksha, the recital saw the youngster presenting 16 numbers, each exploring the wide spectrum of connotations of the word “gaan” in Tagore’s oeuvre, maintaining a fine balance between the literary and musical elements all through. Bandyopadhyay has a melodious timbre and a sincere attitude undaunted by the false alarms sounded by the accompanists. It was reassuring to hear a singer attentive to the subtler nuances of the genre. The touch-notes of Amaar shesh paranir karhi was applied with precision, the exhilarating opening melody of Sur bhule jei ghure berhai was delivered with aplomb and there was a tranquil aura about her Ganer surer asankhani.
Anshuman Bhowmick
Uma Memorial Kalalayam presented bharatnatyam recital by Chitraparna Saha at Gyan Manch on February 2. Under the guidance of Kalamandalam Venkitt, the artiste danced all most all the traditional numbers of bharatnatyam repertoire starting from keertanam to tillana. Technically sound foundation, an important quality of a dancer, made her recital rhythmic. Based on raga nattai and taal mishra chappu, she performed alarippu with ease. Keertanam, an invocation to Goddess Saraswati praising her divine qualities was emotive. Varnam, a combination of pure dance, and abhinaya was not impressive.
Sharmila Basu Thakur
Gaud Sarang was at its melodic height when Tejendra Narayan Majumdar’s sarod painted this noontime raga vividly by blending robust bols and gentle glides with delicate krintans and zamzamas spread over the canvas of several octaves. Warmed up with simple rhythmic patterns, the teental gatkari turned to complex ones. The taans faced the hurdles created by the raga’s meandering gait with ?lan. The event was organised by Swar Ganga on February 5 at Madhusudan Mancha. Purnima Chowdhury, with her usual verve, delighted with a bouquet of thumri, dadra, tappa, hori, etc. Earlier young musicians Indrayudh Bose (violin) and Pran Gopal Bandopadhyay (tabla) exhibited matured compatibility during gatkaris in Ahir Bhairav. The morning woke up with thumris sung by the Chowdhury’s disciples.
Meena Banerjee
