Abhishek Lahiri (Picture by Shambhu Hazra)

The poignant pukar ‘Gunion ke guni...jiyo sau baras’ echoed the inherent emotion of the star-studded evening when Saurabh presented the 30th Bhuwalka Award to octogenarian vocalist Pandit Amiyo Ranjan Bandopadhyay at Uttam Mancha on 25th March. Kaushiki Chakrabarty Desikan sang this composition in Shuddh Kalyan set to jhoomra apparently because this was a favourite raga and taal of Ustad Amir Khan, the mentor of the awardee.

A longish aochar, weighed down by the typical heavy glides, etched the sombre mood of the raga. But jhoomra was far from ‘ati vilambit’. The elaboration turned to bol-baant pretty soon and a barrage of super fast taans, superbly crafted in varying patterns, was the focal point of the fast teental. Adjusting her voice-throw with remarkable ease she sang a romantic Hori. The laggi by Samar Saha (tabla) added to it the lively tone of Holi.

The recital by a young vocalist on this occasion proved two points: contrary to the assessment by its patron Saurabh, who may have reasons to turn to modern dance and music, it will not be easy to compose the epitaph for classical music! And more importantly, despite the unjust apathy of Bengali vocalists towards the ‘Hindusthani’, proper pronunciation is important. Yet Kaushiki was not very sure whether the moment had to be subh (auspicious) or subha (morning) in Aaj ki ghari shubha ho. Also sukh (bliss) became sookh (dry). One must note that Ustad Amir Khan abhorred erroneous pronunciation and, therefore, bol-baant that distorted words and their import.

A packed Birla Academy saw another young musician Abhishek Lahiri play sarod (26th). Yaman was his choice. The tranquil 12-minute alap delved in the depths of melody. Neat bolkari was the highlight of the jod segment and the jhala sparkled with clarity. The slow rupak gatkari with long spells of taankari stressing on several fast strokes on one note became monotonous. Various khayal bandishes added new dimensions to the fast teental gatkari.

Raga Kedar in Pragya Banerjee’s mellifluous voice bore Patiala’s robust stamp in the second half of the evening organised by Surangan. The bold lower and crystal clear higher reaches were impressive. Apart from the repetitive and rather rusty taans her simple style, aided by Parimal Chakraborty (tabla) and Rajendra Banerjee (harmonium), had its own charm.