Ustad Ali Ahmed Hussain Khan’s stirring strains of shehnai lent an auspicious touch to Rhythm’s silver jubilee celebrations at Madhusudan Mancha on October 29.

Inspired by the presence of musicians among the audience, Khan was in his element; so was his rendition of Gurjari Todi. An air of festivity marked the event, with his sons, Ahmed Abbas and Hasan Haidar, joining him as shehnai accompanists along with two tanpura players and Sujit Saha on tabla.

The pensive mood of the alap, dwelling on solid, standing notes and small, echoing phrases, moved towards a rhythmic jod. The staccato notes and heavy gamaks were linked by long glides and crisp taans spanning the octaves. The simple beauty of the teental gatkari sparkled with neat phrase-developments and taans with intricately designed loops. Some of these received stimulating responses from the tabla. The recital concluded with a lilting dhun.

Earlier, the young students of Rhythm — directed by their guru Sujit Saha — presented an enthralling ensemble of Indian classical, Bangla folk and Western drums. Samaresh Chowdhury, the concluding artiste, accompanied by Uttam Chakraborty’s tabla, sang raga Devgandhar.