Suromurchhana’s Calcutta and US branches organised their annual tribute to Pandit A.T. Kanan and Malabika Kanan at Uttam Mancha. The evening commenced with a vocal performance by Sumoulika Sarkar who presented Raga Madhuvanti followed by a thumri in tilang composed by Malabika Kanan. She was accompanied by Anirban Chakraborty on the harmonium and Bibhas Sanghai on the tabla. Ashim Chowdhury’s sitar recital in Raga Patdeep enchanted the audience, with Subhajyoti Guha supporting him on the tabla. Shantanu Bhattacharyya’s vocal recital in Raga Puriya Dhanashree was mellifluous (picture, top). He concluded with a thumri in Raga Khamaj. The artist was accompanied by Parimal Chakrabarty on the tabla and Rupashree Bhattacharya on the harmonium.

Prattyush Banerjee’s sarod performance in the ragas, Yaman and Nand, with Tanmoy Bose on the tabla was entertaining and showed a mastery over rhythm. Pandit Kumar Bose was felicitated with the Memorial Award. The evening concluded with
his solo tabla recital, which was an evocative display of rhythmic brilliance and improvisation. He was ably supported by Hiranmay Mitra on the harmonium and Rohen Bose on the tabla.

Fire by Ashim Bandhu Bhattacharya and troupe Source: Payel Sengupta

Nrityabritti Batayan celebrated the Indian classical arts through its annual dance and music festival. Under the supervision of the festival director and founding member, Kalamandalam Swarnadeepa Mahanta, the festival was a display of artistic excellence. Ashim Bandhu Bhattacharya (Kathak) and his troupe performed a choreography titled Fire (picture, bottom), followed by a musical performance by Iman Das. The
audience witnessed a remarkable display of Manipuri dance by the
disciples of the Anjika school of dance under the tutelage of Priti Patel. A beautiful Kuchipudi presentation was put up by Rithika Kumbaldine and others from Kalamandalam Calcutta. The festival concluded with a captivating performance by the students of Nrityabritti Batayan. The closing act beautifully captured the essence of Indian classical dance.