GaanSaraswati Mahotsav Pune

 

I was eagerly waiting to attend a "Classical Music Festival" live in person after a gap of almost 4-5 years. These festivals in Pune, in line with the likes of Sawai in past are more like "Jalsa" to me. They display us a variety in classical music, from instrumental to vocal, Hindustani to Carnatic and Western, from the upcoming young talent to the established, from the auditory to visual experience of "Sangeet" involving dance. 

Like many traditional classical loving Punekars, I had stopped attending the "Sawai" since its move from the traditional venue of Ramanbag to "the Gultekdi Market", sensing the decline in overall quality of the "classical festival".

The lineup of artists for the 10th year of GaanSaraswati Mahotsav attracted me to the festival. I had prebooked my season pass well in advance online and was ready for reviving my interest in the "Musical Jalsas". The weekend of Feb 23rd to 25th was hence blocked for the "experience".

GaanSaraswati Mahotsav Day 1 - Review and experience

The arrangements at the venue and the overall management and ticketing experience did not disappoint me. I am glad that the organizers have adapted to most of the modern day systems and arrangements, but still retaining the "Traditional Sawai" template of Musical Jalsa. The festival has "only chairs" seating arrangement and that is more comfortable for the young and elderly alike.

Day 1, Friday evening by 5 pm, the festival kicked off with the rendering of Traditional "Mantra" recitation by religious pandits. This created a unique experience to the audience and I am sure many music lovers instantly settled into a calming soothening milieu, that imparts a kind of "Theharaav"

The young trio of Manas Kumar (violins), Abhay Nayampally (Carnatic Guitar) and Ishan Ghosh (Tabla) was delightful and assuring. They started with a Ganesh Stuti in Hansdwani by Abhay Nayampally followed by Patmanjiri alap by Manas Kumar on Violins. The trio together rendered a beautiful fusion of Carnatic and Hindustani melodious experience that was based around PantuVaraLi of Carnatic style and Puriya Dhanaashree of Hindustani style. This young brigade has already won the hearts of not just the youth but also the "traditional" classical lovers. Their fusion was definitely not a confusion but a perfect mix of Carnatic and Hindustani, the progressive classical experience tradition and modern, an experience of intellectual performing art that has strong roots in traditional training and riyaaz. No doubt that the "trio" has a bright future ahead. They were presented with "Young achievers" Award. 

By 6.30 pm the pandal was full, as the darling of crowd, Kaushiki Chakravarty was on stage accompanied by Ojas Adhiya on Tabla, Murad Ali on Sarangi and Tanmay Deochakke on Harmonium. She started with Shuddha Kalyan (May be as a tribute to the Gaan Saraswati Kishori Amonkar ) with Patiala vilambit bandish "Aaj ki shubhghadee" (आज की शुभ घडी ) followed by "Mat kar gumaan" (मत कर गुमान ) in madhya lay and the classic Patiala gem "Baajo re baajo" (बाजो रे बाजो ). A thumri in Maanjh-Khamaj "Prem agan jiyaraa" (प्रेम अगंन जियारा ) and a Marathi abhang "Maaze maaher Pandhari"(माझे माहेर पंढरी) . She concluded by 8.45 with "Mhaaro pranaam" (म्हारो ) as a tribute to GaanSaraswati. 

Pt Ronu Majumdar with Pt Ramdas Palsule on Tabla, arrived on the stage for the final concert of the day at round 9pm and was filled with emotions as he remembered his association with GaanSaraswati. With his alaapi in Abhogi Kanada, he calmed down the crowd and continued a pleasing rendering, ably accompanied by appropriate soft Tabla. His Pahaadi with a stress on Shuddha Nishadh was the icing on the cake. The concluding Bhairavi brought about the perfect "bhaav" of Karuna and surrender. Audience were filled with peaceful emotions as they left for their homes for the day, eagerly awaiting Day 2 of the festival that will feature young vocalist Saurabh Kadgaonkar, Aarti Ankalikar and Niladri Kumar. 

GaanSaraswati Mahotsav Day 2 - Review and experience

Day 2 , Saturday Feb 24th evening started with performance by young vocalist Saurabh Kadgaonkar of Pune who has been a disciple of Pt Raghunandan Panshikar. He started the concert with Bhimpalas vilambit followed by a drut "Naad Samudra" and a tarana. The highlight of his performance was a raagmala that was composed by his friend Rohit Marathe, involving Gaavati, Sarang, Kalyan, DwiGandhaar, Kanada, Malhar, Hansdhwani, Nand, Bhatiyaar, Yaman and Des.

He concluded with the famous bhajan "Bolava Vitthal, pahavaa vitthal" (बोलावा विठ्ठल , पहावा विठ्ठल)

Aarti Ankalikar was on stage with Purva-Kalyan in ati-vilambit Jhaptaal "Hovan lagi saanjh" (होवन लागी सांझ). An expansive ati-vilambit that created a very serious mood for almost 45 minutes was followed by a tarana in madhya lay and a drut "Piharava aajaa re,begi begi aavo more mandirava" ( पिहरवा आजा रे, बेगी बेगी आयो मोरे मंदिरवा) The second raag she chose was Hemant with a bandish by guru Dinkar Kaikini, "aavo ri aavo ri aavo ri sakhiyaa gaao, rituraaj hai" (आयो री आयो री आयो री सखिया)  and jod "jhanan jhanan jhanana baaje, sakhi mori" (झनन झनन झनन बाजे , सखी मोरी )

Niladri Kumar with his sitar started aalaapi in Khamaaj, displaying his mastery over the instrument. The raag chosen by him was .. obviously Jhinjhoti! An ample scope for the accompanist Tabla player, entertaining the crowd with more gimmickry than "pure soft classicalness". To me this performance sounded loud and below par the standards set by his father Kartik Kumar and he himself previously. However, the rendition of Bhairavi bandishes overcame my disappointment, concluding the final concert of day 2.

GaanSaraswati Mahotsav Day 3 - Review and experience

Day 3 Sunday morning session was enjoyable with young vocalist Jashan Bhumkar presenting Gunkali, Father and son duo violinists Milind & Yadnesh Raikar presenting Bilaskhani Todi and Pt Jayteerth Mewundi presenting Lalat, concluding the session with "Sou Bhagyada lakshmi baramma" (सौभाग्यदा लक्ष्मी बरम्मा ) 

Evening session began with young santoorist Shantanu Gokhale presenting Hansdwani followed by Kathak presentation by Sharvari Jamenis. 

The highlight of the evening was Pt Vishwamohan Bhatt and his Mohan Veena accompanied on Tabla by Abhishek Mishra and supported by his son and disciple Salil Bhat on Satvic Veena. He presented his own creation raag Vishwaranjani followed by his famous composition that had won him Grammy award. He was presented with "Mongubai Kurdikar Award" 

The final concert of the festival was by Pt Raghunandan Panshikar who started with Sawani Nat in Vilambit "Anahat Naad" (अनाहत नाद ) with the typical Jaipur style of slow phrasic progression of aakaar taans. He also aptly commented that the Jaipur gayaki sounds like "Rushi muni chanting their mantras in soft and slow manner". It was followed by a tarana.

A beautiful Bandish "Dekho shyam gehri neend baiyaan mori" (देखो शाम गहरी निंद ) of Chandrakauns ang Bageshree was short but soft and soothing. He concluded with a bhajan of Raghavendra Swami in Kannada.

The festival concluded by playing a recorded Bhairavi of young Kishori Amonkar. 

 Video content of the festival is posted on the fan page of Gaan Saraswati Mahotsav at Gaan Saraswati Mahotsav facebook Page   and on YouTube channel  Prasad Bhave - YouTube

A pot of Golden light .. Deskar- Bhoop : Jyotikalash (ज्योतीकलश)

 

The inspiration behind writing this blogpost or may I say extending the previous blogpost about Bhoop, is Raag Deskar that got totally forgotten in previous blogpost. I also realize that the combination of Bhoop and Deskar / Deshkar require an independent post. 

Raag Deskar is a pentatonic raag with same notes as Bhoop but with different chalan. The vaadi and samvaadi swar, the dominant and semi-dominant note respectively, of these two raags are also interchanged and so is the tempos at which they sound better. Gandhaar(Ga) is dominant in Bhoop while Dhaivat (Dha) is dominant in Deskar. I often compare this duo of raags with the duo of Puriya and Sohoni, that share same notes but interchange Vaadi and Samvaadi swar.

One more raag that shares the same set of notes but has different chalan (gait) is called Jait or Jait Kalyan. This raag sounds very similar to Shuddha Kalyan (roughly a combination of Bhoop in ascending and Kalyan in descending). Shuddha Kalyan is a giant of a raag and is favorite of many stalwarts, has been popular with many centuries. Being a combination of two BIG raags (Bhoop and Yaman Kalyan) it has huge expanse. 

GaanSaraswati Kishori Amonkar dwelt upon Shuddha-Kalyan for almost last 10 years of life. The beauty of this raag is that it has Bhoop that sounds like Yaman (Kalyan), hence gives good food for thought among intellectuals and veteran classical performers alike. 

Coming back to the Deskar-Bhoop duo, to me these two raags provide a huge canvas for classical as well as light classical and popular music compositions. Marathi bhaavgeet, Marathi Natya geet and even Hindi popular songs have used these two together in many compositions. Sudhir Phadke's well-known Hindi compositions based on Bhoop-Deskar is "Jyoti Kalash chalake" and the starting song of Marathi Geet Ramayan "Swaye Shri Ram prabhu aikati, Kush-Lav Ramayan Gaati" 

There are many popular songs in Deshkar-Bhoop combination including the "Maze jeevan gaane" of Pu La Deshpande, sung by Pt Jitendra Abhisheki. 

In my opinion the perfect time of Bhoop is twilight just after the Sun set and the perfect time for Deskar is just before the Dawn, before the sun rise. (The time after sunrise at Dawn is taken by my favorite Vibhas!) 

 

Vibhaas : The enlightenment, an appeal to Mind and Soul !

                  

तारवा गिनत- गिनत मै को रैन गवाई
ऐसी प्रीत तुम कब हूँ  ना किन्ही
सुरजनवा बलमा प्यारे ...
सदारंग कल ना परत मोहे तोरे बिना
भई हूँ मैं दीवानी

Vid Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande sings extended , but crisp vilambit "hey narhar narayan" followed by "Taarvaa ginat-ginat mai ko raien gavaai".

My morning starts frequently with this "नरहर नारायण" and "तारवा गिनत-गिनत" Vibhaas of Bhairav thaat by Vid Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande and then by Pt Madhup Mudgal , especially during these lock-downs due to Corona virus pandemic. Many a times these days, when the situation of "kal naa parat" is readily experienced,  the drut bandish lingers in mind all day long !
Vibhaas of Bhairav thaat has been the "Raag of Lockdown" for me ... It has that mix of solitude, one-ness, depth, sorrow, longing and hope that characterizes my experience during these challenging times.

अरुपास पाहे रूपी
तोच भाग्यवंत
निसर्गात भरून राहे
अनादी अनंत

To me , Raag Vibhaas has always appealed as a deep morning thought , an enlightenment that makes one explore and persist in spite of all the tribulations.. it has that perfect blend of grandiose, poise and thoughtfulness of primordial Bhairav along with the pensive touch of Marwa. The Yang and Yin of life !
The picture that comes to mind while listening  to Raag Vibhaas (Bhairav thaat) is that of the horizon on a seashore just before the sunrise..early morning golden hour just before the dawn !

This post could be labeled as continuation of the post from May 2018, Vibhaas .. a melody signifying pervasiveness of the Almighty Creator  


















I like to listen to Bhairav thaat Vibhaas early in the morning, around 4am and sometimes the Marwa Thaat Vibhaas very late at night in solitude
( Pt Madhup Moudgal - Bhairav Thaat Vibhaas : Taarwa Ginat Ginat mai to raein  )

 ( Kishori Amonkar - Marwa Thaat Vibhaas : Hey Narahari Narayan and Meet Piharava Mora re )

Here is my complete playlist of Raag Vibhaas ( with both Marwa and Bhairav thaat ) 
Vibhaas Playlist 

In my musings on music, I realize that the haunting melodies of Vibhaas are the worldly equivalent of the "Universal Bhairav".. appeals emotionally to human mind and soul more than the Brain !

Vibhaas : Here again is the link to my previous blogpost on Vibhaas with some fine songs with haunting melodies.

The Purvi - Paraj axis : Interpreting "Hey Shyamsundar raajasaa"

Raag Purvi and the raagaang / thaat associated with it has always fascinated me. In fact , one of the most haunting melodies associated with this matrix in Raag Purvi / Gauri / Shree / Puriya Dhanashree , composed by Pt Hridaynath Mangeshkar, "Jeevalaga rahile re dur ghar" and "Dayaaghanaa" brought me close to Khyaal music / raagdari music and in a way to Hindustani Classical Music. I became a "fanatic" of his "Bhaavsargam maifils (soirees) in Pune and Bombay during my college days, where he sang impromptu almost all night long. Those were really "Wonder years", where younger Hridaynath sang for hours , conversing ,singing impromptu bandishes on which some of his songs were based !
I truly miss such kind of musical soirees now.

The "Poorvi-Pooriya Dhanashree-Paraj-Basant Axis" as mathematician Parrikar explains it, is truly a wonderful set of raags of twilight. I would also include in this axis , the kernel of Shree and Gauri. Almost all raags in this axis are a serious type of raags of evening / twilight that brings a mood of longing and nostalgia, prompting the listener to ponder ! With subtle differences in their chalans , these raags touch a listener, more so with the literature and philosophy of their bandishes and songs based on these bandishes.
Jeevalaga by Savanee Ravindraa  on youtube is a good unplugged version .. many similar renditions could be found on youtube and the one I liked is of Manjushree Oak.. a rendition that gives the mature feel of the bandish and the lyrics.
One other rendition of Manjushree Oak , "Ghanu vaje ghun ghuna" based on Bageshree-Gorakh Kalyan too is among my favorites

In this post , I would like to dwell about the "classic" song "Shyam sundar raajasa" based on Paraj-Bahar (with a tinge of Kishori Amonkar famed Pancham Rageshree ) recorded in 1965.

This song haunts one's mind and does not leave a serious listener with any other melodies or thoughts for hours and days together. It almost occupies every minute of your day and just refuses to leave ! I have had this experience and always get those goosebumps and hauntings whenever I hear this rendition of GaanSaraswati , composed by Pt Hrudaynath Mangeshkar , to the lyrics of Shantabai Shelke.

हे श्यामसुंदर राजसा, मनमोहना विनवुनी सांगते तुज जाउ दे मला परतुनी !
गाव गोकुळ दूर राहे दूर यमुनानीर वाहे हरवले मी कसे मज चालले कुठे घनवनीं ?
पावरीचा सूर भिडला मजसि माझा विसर पडला नकळता पाउले मम राहिली इथे थबकुनी !
पानजाळी सळसळे का ? भिवविती रे लाख शंका ! थरथरे, बावरे मन संगती सखी नच कुणी !

One other nice Audio-Visual presentation and interpretation of this song is here on youtube

Before I start my interpretation of this "classic" song, I bow in obeisance to all three of them , for this creation , that has proved to be a gem , a "thing forever" for every student of classical music / khyaal / poetry / literature / philosophy or life ! All the connoisseurs of music , art and philosophy are indebted to them !

In my opinion and pondering, I realize that many have interpreted this song as a thought of Raadha ( a seeker of liberation through bhakti marg). I however would like to present a different interpretation here.  I  think that this poetry / song is a pondering of a "Mumukshu" ( a sanskrit term for one who is focused on attaining liberation, and a seeker of knowledge and truth )
These are thoughts of a Mumukshu who has reached far at a point in his/her path of attaining liberation, where he finds himself alone/lonely with no one (guru) to guide further. He feels lost and is frightened. He is questioning himself about the path that he is threading. He is enlightened to some realities of life and wishes to return from a "point of no return" !( may be due to disillusionment or foreseeing prospect of death before attaining liberation ).  I also feel that this Mumukshu has traveled on the path of "Dnyan Marg" ( as against bhakti  marg as in case of Radhaa )
I must apologize to the knowledgeable masters in Philosophy and Spiritual sciences,  upfront if my amateurish  "spiritual/philosophical" interpretation of this song is wrong because of lack of my knowledge in this domain but ,there are reasons for my interpretation of this song the way I have inferred it above from various clues in lyrics , the choice of raag / melody , the choice of singer by the composer and the overall feel of the song and its impact.
Here they are... some of those clues and data points upon which I have inferred my interpretation :

"विनवुनी सांगते तुज जाउ दे मला परतुनी" - A request to let him return without further threading the path ( regret / disillusionment )

"हरवले मी कसे मज चालले कुठे घनवनीं ?" - Having realized that one is lost in jungle , unable to find a path ahead

 "मजसि माझा विसर पडला नकळता पाउले मम राहिली इथे थबकुनी" - After having forgotten "self" on the path to liberation, a point comes when one realizes that the destination is either lost or is unreachable through the path or the body foreseeing the approaching death

"पानजाळी सळसळे का ? भिवविती रे लाख शंका" - The word "Salsale" points towards  a reptile or something like a snake ( kaal sarp ) that might signify approaching death that frightens and doubts all the good reasoning that was conceived earlier while following the road taken (path)

"थरथरे, बावरे मन संगती सखी नच कुणी !" - Why would a Mumukshu be frightened , his strong mind waver and regret that there is no companion ? Doesnt this signify disillusionment ?

Some other facts about this song that have pointed towards my interpretation are :

1) My interpretation of this song was more lucid and clear to myself after the sudden death of Gaansaraswati Kishori Amonkar. Her life , her demeanor ,her personality , her brilliance (as a Mumukshu on Dnyan marg) and her sudden unexpected "natural" death .. everything depicts what could be the crux of this song.
2) Shantabai Shelke who undoubtedly is the Saraswati of Marathi literature, blessed with knowledge and highest aptitude of Marathi  language ( Vaagyeshwari ) , was herself an ardent "Seeker of truth through Dnyan marg" (mumukshu)

3) The insight of brilliant Pt Hridaynath Mangeshkar , who chose to record this song based on the melody of Paraj-Bahar (plus pancham Bageshree) in the voice of then young and brilliant Kishori Amonkar, in year 1965, sidelining his own talented sisters (Lata , Asha ) who were two of the topmost in those days !

On a personal side note : This song rightly does not belong to voice  quality and the personalities of either Lata or Asha. Lata would have sounded it like more of a "longing" ( like Ghanu vaaje ghuna ghun ) and Asha may have either romanticized it or made it sound like Jeevalaga ! 

This completes my pondering and musings on the interpretation of"Shyamsundar Raajasa".
Critical comments , corrections , comments in agreement or disagreement are all welcome.

Party .... Sahela re

The Party - 1984 Classic by Govind Nihalani , is one of the most realistic films. An instant classic with high caliber actors, the movie has that subtle satire , sarcasm and realism. Based on a novel by Mahesh Elkunjwar "Party" , the movie has a gripping story that revolves around the characters that are part of an evening Party hosted by a Bombay high society socialite. Truth , realism and stories of characters told in subtle realistic fashion by Director and Producer Govind Nihalani.
The actors are all veterans .. Deepa Sahi , Om Puri , Amrish Puri , Rohini Hattangadi , Manohar Singh, Naseerudin Shah , Vijaya Mehta , Soni Razdan , Mohan Bhandari , Shafi Inamdar and many more ! An ensemble of cast typical of an "Art Cinema"

One more reason that makes this movie memorable is the Kishori Amonkar khyaal in Bhoop .. "Sahela Re" used as a background score (starting around 1:16:00) .. here is the complete film.

सहेला रे , आ मिल गाये..
सप्तसुरन की भेद सुनाये
जनम-जनम को संग न भुले
अब के मिले सो बिछूड ना जाये !