The lights dimmed, a sudden hush descends on the auditorium. And yet the atmosphere is charged with excitement. As the ideal chatter dies down, a single voice resonates across the hall chanting "Aum" followed by a string of swaras. As people strain their eyes in anticipation, the spotlight falls on V Selvaganesh as he plays the first notes on the 'ghatam' for the evening. As his performance is about to end, a silhouette moves on stage and takes position. As the audience strain and wonder, the first notes of 'sarangi' fill the air introducing Dilshad Khan. The duo slowly reveal their skills and the melody of their music fills the air as they set stage for rest of the concert.
A third silhouette takes position on stage even as the 'sarangi' continues to play. By now the audience is at the edge of their seats with anticipation and excitement peaking. The auditorium is filled with an electrically charged silence with ears and eyes straining towards the stage. As if to answer their prayers, the first notes of table resonate the silence and the stage is lit with peoples smiles creating a single spotlight. The Ustad has arrived and immediately gets to business even as the first few minutes of his performance are drowned by cheers and claps.
The concert has begun! As the 'ghatam' quietens, the 'sarangi' and 'tabla' take center stage even as they alternately lead and slide into supporting roles. The Ustad brings 'tabla' closer to real life making it create sounds like people would never have imagined. There is the "Tof tarang" or sound of the booming canon being played and then suddenly a train comes to life on stage with the "rail tarang" imitating the rhythm of a train as it moves with varying speeds and even across varying terrains! And there are interesting anecdotes from Indian mythology being played on just the 'tabla'. And as people are marvelling the Ustad's skills and wondering what next, the 'tabla' suddenly slows down and sounds quite unlike itself!
Just as the audience registers this change, Vijay Chavan hits the first notes on a 'dholki' starting with the traditional beginning of a 'lavani'. And it is at this point that the mood changes from appreciation to enjoyment. With the increasing tempo of the 'dholki' it becomes more difficult to resist the urge to stand up and dance and the entire auditorium is foot tapping! There is an interesting duel between the 'tabla' and the 'dholki' at the end of which the Ustad raises his hands in appreciation even as his face lights up with his hallmark smile of enjoying his art.
For me, to listen to such an excellent performance on a 'dholki' inspite of being so far away from my home was amazingly overwhelming. In a single moment I had lost myself to the music and found my soul. I wanted to sit and listen in peace and get up and dance at the same time. Its amazing how we don't realize the things we are missing until they are right in front of us! The 'dholki' was definitely highlight of the evening.
As much as the 'dholki' had enthralled the audience before the interval, the 'dhol' charmed them after. Deepak Bhat chose to enter from one of the auditorium doors and move amongst the audience before he captured the stage with traditional punjabi tunes. I think for the first time I realized the difference between classical and folk music. Classical music demands an understanding and appreciation while folk music just demands enjoyment. Classical music has to be listened to with keen ears to appreciate the finesse and accuracy of the swaras. Folk music has to be heard with ears of the heart to join in the enthusiasm and energy of the musician.
Niladri Kumar bought back the melody with a brilliant performance on the sitar which kept sounding like a sitar at times and an electric guitar at others. Steve Smith provided an interesting twist with his bass and drum set.
Towards the end as all seven artists came together , there was a beautiful blend of Hindustani classical music with folk music all of which sounded even better with the western drums. At some points, it was impossible to distinguish the sound and rhythm of each instrument. The most surprising part was the jugalbandi of drums with each of the other instrument. After a while, the drum seemed as much of an Indian classical instrument as the 'tabla' or the 'kanjira'.
The Ustad personally introduced and praised each artist and thanked everyone, from the spot boy to the Indian Consulate, even as he continued playing with the rest. His modesty was visible when at the end, he refused to take credit for the performance himself while cheering the other artists.
The music was surreal, as if angels from heaven had descended upon the earth to provide us mortals a magical experience for the rest of our lives. Truly, the best evening of my time in UGA so far. I hope there are many more to come.
A third silhouette takes position on stage even as the 'sarangi' continues to play. By now the audience is at the edge of their seats with anticipation and excitement peaking. The auditorium is filled with an electrically charged silence with ears and eyes straining towards the stage. As if to answer their prayers, the first notes of table resonate the silence and the stage is lit with peoples smiles creating a single spotlight. The Ustad has arrived and immediately gets to business even as the first few minutes of his performance are drowned by cheers and claps.
The concert has begun! As the 'ghatam' quietens, the 'sarangi' and 'tabla' take center stage even as they alternately lead and slide into supporting roles. The Ustad brings 'tabla' closer to real life making it create sounds like people would never have imagined. There is the "Tof tarang" or sound of the booming canon being played and then suddenly a train comes to life on stage with the "rail tarang" imitating the rhythm of a train as it moves with varying speeds and even across varying terrains! And there are interesting anecdotes from Indian mythology being played on just the 'tabla'. And as people are marvelling the Ustad's skills and wondering what next, the 'tabla' suddenly slows down and sounds quite unlike itself!
Just as the audience registers this change, Vijay Chavan hits the first notes on a 'dholki' starting with the traditional beginning of a 'lavani'. And it is at this point that the mood changes from appreciation to enjoyment. With the increasing tempo of the 'dholki' it becomes more difficult to resist the urge to stand up and dance and the entire auditorium is foot tapping! There is an interesting duel between the 'tabla' and the 'dholki' at the end of which the Ustad raises his hands in appreciation even as his face lights up with his hallmark smile of enjoying his art.
For me, to listen to such an excellent performance on a 'dholki' inspite of being so far away from my home was amazingly overwhelming. In a single moment I had lost myself to the music and found my soul. I wanted to sit and listen in peace and get up and dance at the same time. Its amazing how we don't realize the things we are missing until they are right in front of us! The 'dholki' was definitely highlight of the evening.
As much as the 'dholki' had enthralled the audience before the interval, the 'dhol' charmed them after. Deepak Bhat chose to enter from one of the auditorium doors and move amongst the audience before he captured the stage with traditional punjabi tunes. I think for the first time I realized the difference between classical and folk music. Classical music demands an understanding and appreciation while folk music just demands enjoyment. Classical music has to be listened to with keen ears to appreciate the finesse and accuracy of the swaras. Folk music has to be heard with ears of the heart to join in the enthusiasm and energy of the musician.
Niladri Kumar bought back the melody with a brilliant performance on the sitar which kept sounding like a sitar at times and an electric guitar at others. Steve Smith provided an interesting twist with his bass and drum set.
Towards the end as all seven artists came together , there was a beautiful blend of Hindustani classical music with folk music all of which sounded even better with the western drums. At some points, it was impossible to distinguish the sound and rhythm of each instrument. The most surprising part was the jugalbandi of drums with each of the other instrument. After a while, the drum seemed as much of an Indian classical instrument as the 'tabla' or the 'kanjira'.
The Ustad personally introduced and praised each artist and thanked everyone, from the spot boy to the Indian Consulate, even as he continued playing with the rest. His modesty was visible when at the end, he refused to take credit for the performance himself while cheering the other artists.
The music was surreal, as if angels from heaven had descended upon the earth to provide us mortals a magical experience for the rest of our lives. Truly, the best evening of my time in UGA so far. I hope there are many more to come.
