The mood of the monsoons has enriched Indian classical music over the years. The annual Malhar Utsav held at the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Golpark, is a programme that brings together the diverse moods of the monsoons. This year, the event was inaugurated with a vocal and sitar recital by Debapriya Adhikari and Samanway Sarkar. Both artists started their performance with Raga Gaud Malhar, a beautiful monsoon raga of the early evening. An alaap was followed by compositions set to jhamptaal and teentaal. Adhikari’s vocal performance was well-matched by Sarkar’s sitar. Arup Chattopadhyay accompanied them on the tabla. They concluded with a jhula.
The vocalist, Dattatreya Velankar, commenced with Raga Miyan ki Malhar in vilambit ektaal, followed by a teentaal composition. Ashoke Mukherjee and Kamalaksha Mukherjee assisted him perfectly on the tabla and the harmonium, respectively. Tejendra Narayan Majumdar on the sarod and Kumar Bose on the tabla stole the spotlight (picture, left). The artists began with the rarely heard Raga Jayant Malhar, followed by Raga Kafi Malhar and Raga Nat Malhar. Majumdar’s soulful and smooth rendition and his shifting among the different variants of Malhar revealed his expertise. He was able to able to express the charm of Malhar to the audience. Bose’s tabla accompaniment was captivating. Together they brought the Malhar Utsav to fruition.
Raghav Chatterjee
The tradition of Ramkanai Adhikary’s house, also known as Jhulan Bari, celebrating the Jhulan festival for five days was a special treat this year. The five-day music festival commenced with a vocal recital by Navadeep Chakraborty in Raga Megh, with Bilal Khan Salonvi on the tabla and Pradip Palit on the harmonium. Chakraborty also presented the ragas, Kedara and Hamsadhwani, as well as a thumri, a bhajan, and a bhairavi.
On the second evening, the sarod recital by the two sisters, Troilee and Moisilee, enchanted the audience. They played alaap, jor, jhala, and gats in Raga Shyam Kalyan. They also played Raga Nand and compositions in Raga Desh towards the end. The spontaneity of the sisters’ sawal-jawab with Ashoke Mukherjee’s tabla accompaniment was noteworthy. The fourth evening saw a violin recital by Indradeep Ghosh, followed by a vocal performance by Palash Kuri. Ghosh began with Raga Jayant Malhar, with support from Nabarun Kumar Dutta on the tabla. He played alaap, jor, and jhala in jhamptaal and teentaal gats in a traditional manner.
Palash Kuri sang Raga Bageshree, followed by Raga Jaijaivanti. He also sang
a bhajan at the end. He was accompanied by Sujit Saha on the tabla and Pradip Palit
on the harmonium. The unique performance by Raghav Chatterjee (picture, right) was thoroughly enjoyable for the audience. He rendered Raga Yaman in an elaborate manner with a vilambit kheyal, followed by two other compositions. His voice was generous and carried a spark. Chatterjee has honed his talent with a depth of knowledge about Indian classical music and continuous hard work. The artist also
sang a kajri and the popular “Bhavani dayani” with a strong emotional touch
to it. The festival concluded with a sitar performance by Rafiq Khan. He played Raga Miyan ki Malhar and his intricate and melodious rendition enchanted the listeners. He also played an arresting Raga Malgunji and completed the performance with Raga Bhairavi. Arup Chattopadhyay assisted him on the tabla.