Shubhankar Hazarika, a 16-year old prodigy, performs at Pandit Tirthanath Sarma Sabhaghar

An evening of Hindustani classical music held recently at the Pandit Tirthanath Sarma Sabhaghar was the perfect antidote the connoisseurs of culture in the city needed to rid themselves of the political hangover connected with the recent Lok Sabha elections.

Talim, an institute for practice and training of Hindustani classical music (specialising in instruments), organised the show which was marked by as many as seven pieces by its students.

Set up in 1997 under the initiative of sitar exponent Hem Hazarika, Talim is already an established name in the arena of classical music in Assam, not merely for its serious objectives, but also for the sincere and committed efforts of Hazarika and his disciples. The academy has branches in Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Mangaldoi and Itanagar. A salient feature of Talim is the importance the school attaches to the traditional guru-shishya parampara.

The evening started with a group of 24 students performing two instrumental compositions. The first one was based on raga Pahari in Deepchandi taal and the second one on raga Durga in teentaal. The presentation reached a rare melodious height with the three guest artistes Parameswar Basumatary (flute), Dharani Chetia and Jatin Chetia (tabla) accompanying the young performers.

A solo recital by sitarist Pulak Dev of Itanagar followed the opening number. The artist added colour to the beautiful evening with a composition on raga Yaman, elaborately presented in three phases — alaap, jod and jhala.

Next on the cards was a refreshing jugalbandi (duet), by Purnanand Bharali of Dibrugarh on the violin and Manoj Deb of Moran on the santoor. The artistes chose well and the raga Bhupati they played added to the melodious environment during the show.

The arresting jugalbandi was gracefully complimented by the tabla accompaniment of Sukhamoy Chakraborti, a disciple of Pandit Shankar Ghosh of Calcutta.

Raga Abhogi by Swapna Hazarika on the surbahar was the penultimate item of the evening. A student of sitar maestro Pandit Monilal Nag of Calcutta. Swapna Hazarika, accompanied by Khagen Goswami on the pakhwaj, was a study on the the subtle nuances of the raga. She played in her own distinctive style with finesse. Her dealing with the bistaar part of the raga became more interesting with Goswami’s flawless rendition of choutaal.

The concluding item of the evening was by sitar prodigy Shubhankar Hazarika.

This 16-year-old budding talent has followed in the footsteps of his illustrious parents Hem and Swapna Hazarika in learning the basics under Pandit Monilal Nag. And, there is no denying the fact that Shubhankar has attained a certain height which leads one to hope that he will earn greater glory in the near future, going by his recital at the Pandit Tirthanath Sarma Sabhaghar.

Shubhankar played raga Kirwani for around 90 minutes. The composition was phased in six steps. With splendid command over the laya and the gayaki ang and resounding use of the mizrab, the young artiste completed the alaap, jod and jhala.

During his expansion of the raga in vilambit, Subhankar was ably supported on the tabla by the equally talented Dibyajyoti Changmai playing teentaal. Thus began a musical sojourn by both the artistes for around 50 minutes before Subhankar concluded the raga in drut with excellent accompaniment by Dibyajyoti in drut teentaal. The evening drew to an end with Subhankar presenting a light dhun which was equally haunting.

Rong Sarmah