Buddhadev Dasgupta

Hameer is not a major raga because it breathes under the shadows of Kamod and Yaman. And yet, on May 30 at Gorky Sadan, sarod player Buddhadev Dasgupta made it possible to present a 70-minute recital on this raga. All the treasures of the sarod ang baaj belonging to his gharana were displayed. Initially the overemphasis on the Kamod anga was rather confusing. The signature phrase of the raga arrived after eight minutes of alaap, when Anirban Dasgupta, who was supporting his father-guru on the sarod, exposed it.

The time-tested melodic frame of Hameer seemed to help Dasgupta junior better than his past recitals of rare and sankeerna ragas. The style of his father has rubbed off onto him. He handled the layakari and complex tihais with ?lan but has a long way to go, still.

He has to realise that too much involvement with permutations and combinations is not conducive to bringing out the emotions of a raga.

The jod had every conceivable note combination which reflected the senior’s calculative personality. His gatkari in slow and fast teental, replete with excellent rhythmic variants, was essentially mathematical and, therefore, mechanical. Each phrase, even in kuaad laya, fell into place according to the plan and that too without any pause. Anshubha Banerjee, on the tabla, followed suit. Nothing seemed to inspire anyone. Not even the gat based on Tagore’s Swapne amar mone holo, which offered a little dramatic effect with its komal nishad.

A gat in Zilla Kafi, the concluding item of the evening, also lacked the hues of emotions, in spite of its intriguing gait and the romantic nature of the raga. Such a strain of music, with all its radiance, becomes rather exhausting.

Surchhandam, in association with the Youth Guild for Friendship, dedicated the evening to the memory of Ustad Dabir Khan with a bouquet of music and dance. Earlier, child artiste Protiti Chatterjee, ably supported by an exuberant Biplab Bhattacharya on the tabla, enthralled the spectators with her Kathak recital.

Commencing with a Shiv-stuti she moved on to jhaptal. The poise, the glint of her delicate movements (strengthened by flawless sense of rhythm), clear padhant and neat footwork were a treat to the senses. A Khamaj-based bhajan set to addha demanded sensitivity though. But she needs to work on her abhinaya.