Artistes of Hindustan Sangeet Prachar Samiti present Hindustani classical music at Jayadev Bhavan in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, May 16: Classical music enthralled connoisseurs in the city at a recent concert, where the young and veteran cast spells with instruments and vocal renditions.

The musical evening, organised by the Hindustan Sangeet Prachar Samiti, at Jayadev Bhavan on Monday presented compositions of Hindustani classical.

Giving the show a perfect start, a choir of young singers of the host institution rendered a piece of music, Naada banda. The 13 singers, under the guidance of noted musician Balabanta Ray Bhatt, regaled the listeners with Tori sharana on raga Bhupali and taal Chaitali.

One of the highlights of the evening was the instrumental session by tabla maestro Kulamani Sahoo and his disciples. The group recital was a composition of different taals and gimmicks such as rela.

The co-ordination between the tabla players was astounding while the jugalbandi interludes that the guru and his disciples performed one by one was captivating. Teenager Kishan was outstanding in control and confidence even when challenging his teacher Sahoo on the instrument. This sequence was a delight for the viewers, who appreciated the musical entertainment with rounds of applause many times in between.

“Sahoo was brilliant as always while his disciples seem to be promising talents. The intensity of the tabla performance forced the viewers to clap together,” said Prabhakar Bhuiyan, a viewer.

The young tabla players in the instrumental symphony were Geetgunjan Sahoo, Rakesh, Aakash, Satya and Gopabandhu Nayak, who were accompanied by Akash Ranjit on harmonium.

The vocal session of the show was enchanting as well. Veterans such as Raghunath Sahoo, Basanti Dash and doyen of Odissi music Pandit Damodar Hota presented renditions.

Raghunath Sahoo’s rendition began with a composition Murali hari mukha based on raga Jogkauns. His emotive voice gently brought alive the scene of Radha-Krishna romance for the listeners. A faster paced Gopika sari suran followed by Kanha na aaye more paas depicted devotional and spiritual feelings of the saints.

Renditions by Basanti Dash touched the audience while septuagenarian Hota stole the show.

“It is our sheer luck that we have musicologists such as Pandit Hota, who have contributed their life for the development and promotion of classical music, mainly Odissi. The veteran performers are our inspiration,” said tabla player Sahoo.