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Regular-article-logo Friday, 04 July 2025

Classical treat for music lovers

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EOUR CORRESPONDENT Published 21.02.12, 12:00 AM
Singer Pushpita Rath performs at the Bhubaneswar Municipal Circle concert. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, Feb. 20: A Hindustani classical concert wowed music lovers of the city yesterday evening. The programme, organised by Bhubaneswar Music Circle at Rabindra Mandap, saw the performance of two vocalists, one based in Pune and the other in the city.

Pushpita Rath, who is based in Pune, began the first session of classical music for the evening with a chhota khayal based on raga Kedar followed by a Lakshan geet, a descriptive composition of the raga. Both the items were set in dhrut taal or fast-paced rhythm. Rath captivated the listeners with a repertoire describing Lord Krishna’s birth celebrations. This began with a shloka, followed by folk songs presented in classical style on raga Pahadi and Bahar.

Rath’s grooming in the Benares gharana was evident from the way she performed a jhula — a typical song of the gharana. She concluded with a mesmerising ghazal followed by the famous Odia bhajan — Dinabandhu daitari.

“This is my first public performance in Odisha since I shifted to Pune 15 years ago. I’m lucky to have received such a warm reception from my listeners here,” said Rath, who is being trained in Odissi music by Guru Ramahari Das.

Next came Sangita Panda, who presented a sequence of Hindustani songs one after another. Her intense voice made Mana re tu kahe a treat to listen. She deftly regulated her voice during the recital of Hari ke guna ga re, a bandish written and composed by her father Guru Gopal Chandra Panda, an eminent musician.

She then performed a short tarana — a composition of rhythmic syllables and enchanted the audience with a thumri, Aali re moso. One of the most remarkable performances of the evening by Panda was a Meera bhajan, Piya bina sooni.

Well-known tabla player Tapas Pal and the young Ajay Kumar Das on the harmonium made the singers’ performances memorable.

“Both the singers were brilliant. We would love to hear to such wonderful vocalists more often,” said Amit Kumar Behera, a music lover.

Mahendra Mishra, an organiser of the programme, announced that Bhubaneswar Music Circle will hold a musical evening at the IG park next Sunday.

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