When a hundred colours
hold sway
MANJARI SINHA
| It was vintage sarangi at the recently concluded Saurangi
Festival in New Delhi. |
SONOROUS SARANGI: Murad Ali
gave a melodious performance at the Saurangi Festival in New Delhi.
One of the most expressiveand sophisticated string
instruments, sarangi is rightly referred to as Saurangi, because its
sonorous sound can produce hundreds of shades and add rang (colour)
to a musical performance. Being close to human voice and able to
replicate patterns of vocal music, it is an ideal accompaniment to
Hindustani Classical music. The subtleties that can be acquired
through sarangi cannot be attained through harmonium due to its
limitations.But lately, just for convenience sake, sarangi is being
replaced by harmonium for accompaniment. Its popularity is on the
decline, also because of the fact that it is a difficult instrument
to learn and master.
Thus, the Saurangi Festival was a welcome endeavour
of the Saurang Parampara. A tribute to Ustad Siddique Ahmed Khan,
the two days festival held at Kamani auditorium, showcased sarangi
in its various avatars - from solo to accompaniment to a unique
group ensemble of 13 sarangi players combined with Western
instruments. The festival started with an impressive vocal duet by
the young Shiraz Ahmed and Faraz Ahmed. Disciples of the Late Ustad
Siddique Ahmed Khan and later groomed by Ustad Sabir Khan, the
youngsters represent the vocal tradition of Moradabad Gharana. They
sang Shyam Kalyan with full confidence, accompanied by Sudhir Pande
on tabla, Asif Ali Khan on sarangi and Mahmood Dhoulpuri on
harmonium.
Belying
age
Sarwar Hussain came next with a sarangi solo. The
grandson and disciple of the eminent sarangi maestro Ustad Abdul
Latif Khan, Sarwar has the same lataafat in his sarangi. The repose
of his sombre raga Marwa belied his young age. With a composition in
`ati-vilambit jhumara,' a madhya laya bandish in teentaal and a fast
drut ektaal, he went on to play the difficult raga Hari-Kaunsa. The
elaborate treatment of the ragas, and clarity of his daanedaar taans
that traversed through three octaves up to `ati-taar saptak' spoke
volumes of his taleem and riyaaz. His style embodies the intricate
delicacies of Ustad Abdul Latif Khan but he also tried successfully
the challenging and most difficult style of Ustad Bundoo Khan. He
concluded his recital with a melodious dhun. Nafees Khan on tabla
was not `nafees' enough to match the nafasat and nazaquat of
Sarwar's sensitive sarangi.
Instinctively creative
The evening concluded with a vocal recital by
Shubha Mudgalwho held her audience spellbound with her mellifluous
rendition of raga Kedar. The slow composition in vilambit ek-tal
`jhankar pari' had its mesmerising sam on the taar shadaj. The chota
khayal that followed in teen taal, a musical composition of Ramrang,
named after her Guru Pandit Ram Ashrya Jha, was striking in terms of
poetry and music both. Her effortless taans flowed like streams of
water. She concluded with a delicate raga Desh in `addha theka'. The
tonal quality of Murad Ali's sonorous sarangi, Anish Pradhan's
melodious tabla and even her disciple Shweta Deshpande's voice
matched perfectly to her own timbre. Mohmood Dhoulpuri gave able
support on harmonium.
The star attraction of the next evening was the
tabla solo by Anish Pradhan, a brilliant disciple of the legendary
Gyan Prakash Ghosh. His teen taal offered varied flavours from the
andaz of Ameer Hussain Khan to Ahmed Jaan Thirakava, the `Purab Ka
Gat Ang Quayada,' the use of `Tak Tak bol,' and above all his crisp
parhant were highly appreciated . The evening had started with a
sarangi solo by talented Murad Ali, who played raga Poorvi, Shankara
and a melodious dhun accompanied by Ghulam Ghaus Bharati on tabla.
The festival concluded with the grand finale of the Saurang
ensemble. It was heartening to see 13 sarangi players in one go
along with keyboards, drums, bass and of course tabla accompaniment.
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