Young talent and experience blended perfectly at the music festival organized by the ITC Sangeet Research Academy. Kaushiki Chakrabarty's Yaman was predictable. Her voice flourished in the vilambit khayal, but the drut bandishes demanded more depth. Tejendra Narayan Majumdar's Raga Lalita Gauri was compact and the gat in Raga Chandranandan sonorous.

Venkatesh Kumar was appreciated for his gorgeous and expressive khayals in Kausi Kanada. Alik Sengupta's rendition of Raga Shree was traditional, but his presentation of Bahar was charming. Gayatri and Ranjani (picture) mesmerized the audience with the kritis of Thyagaraja. They chose Raga Bahudari for raagam and taanam and performed Chandrakosh and Madhukosh in pallavi. Bageshree blossomed on N. Rajam's violin. Her presentation of Khamaj was melodious.

Kumar Mardur brought out the beauty of Raga Yogkaus through diverse vistaars, but the taans could have been better. Omkar Dadarkar's recital of Raga Jayjayanti sparkled, but not so his vilambit khayal in tilwada. Shahid Parvez's sitar recital in Raga Yog was exceptional. Alap, jor, jhala and gats were mellifluous, and his mirs created magic. Ajoy Chakrabarty was methodical in Raga Todi in vilambit khayal. The drut khayal was enjoyable too. Uday Bhawalkar's dhrupad in Raga Bhoop was arresting for its prolonged alap. Kedar on Abir Hussain's sarod was ordinary. Ulhas Kashalkar commenced his performance with Kafi Kanada and enchanted his listeners with Pancham Malkaus. The accompaniment of Samar Saha, Yogesh Samsi (tabla) and Jyoti Goho, Rupashree Bhattacharya (harmonium) left a mark.

Rahul Sharma's solo santoor presentation at the Calcutta Club mirrored Shiv Kumar Sharma's style. He began his performance with alap, jor and jhala in Raga Gavati. He attempted to bring out the raga's traits but the lack of variation made his performance linear. The commencement of the gats was interesting, but they sounded repetitive later. Shubhankar Banerjee's kaydas and small taans (tabla) breathed life into the performance.