Amar Oak अमर ओक (Bansuri)
Attended Bansuri concert of Amar Oak. He was accompanied by Advait Gokhale - Tabla and Sumey Gumaste - Flute accompaniment. This baithak was organized by ADICM, Abu Dhabi. I attended the concert with Aditi, Prakash, Swati, Jayant and Sucheeta on 15th Feb 2026.
Bada Khyal of th concert was 'Raag Ahir Bhairav'. A Raag for Bhagwan Shankar, an apt choice on the occasion of Mahashivratri. He played three compositions. First in Vilambit Ektaal, second in Madhyalay Jhaptaal. This was a Bandish, composed by Pt. Kedar's Bodas specifically for Bansuri. Third in Drut Teentaal. He played the most famous brandish of Ustaad Sultan Khan, Albela Sajan Ayo Re. He played several delicate and difficult notes and was applauded every time by the knowledgable audience.
He then presented Chota Khyal, it was 'Raag Desh'. This too was appreciated by audience. However, I felt that this was a little bit on shorter side. Some more detailing would have been nice.
Amar then played the favourite Raag of Bhagvan Shri Krishna, Raag 'Vrindawani Sarang'. He played this serene Raag masterfully without tabla accompaniment in the first section. It was pure bliss. Wow! The clear notes and attention to details, breath and finger control and his dexterity made this a very special one that will remain in the memory for years.
Tabla then joined in and they played improviso. The section ending with Swal-Jawab with Tabla. Audience enjoyed Sawal-Jawab very much and applauded Advit many times. These were his 15 minutes in the limelight.
Concert concluded with my favorite 'Raag Bhairavi'. Whenever this Raag is played I get goosebumps. It stirs unexplainable emotions. In this Raag, I liked the first portion that he played without Tabla more. This was a fitting finale.
Needless to say that when the concert ended there was a grand applause and standing ovation. The audience couldn't stop clapping.
Amar is disciple of Pt. Kedar Bodas and Pt. Hari Prasad Chourasia. He is a well known TV personality, accompanying artists in reality shows and playing for Marathi film industry. He is famous for his light music. This was the first time for me to watch him play classical music. It came as a great surprise that although, Amar has toured abroad and is part of several concerts, this was his first purely classical music concert out of India. And we were fortunate enough to witness this momentous occasion. I hope he devotes some more time for classical music. It will be Indian classical music's loss to lose this classical musician to light music. Amar encouraged Ameya and Advait to play without hesitation. He also ensured that Advait gets his due credit. A sign of great artist! He has a pleasant personality and has no attitude making him instantly likable.
Advait started a bit tentatively but caught up quickly and proved to be an able accompanist. Sumey did his job well but was a bit shy to try out difficult notes. It must be a good learning experience for him.
Concert was attended by more than 100 persons. Good sound system and fantastic music made the concert a memorable one. Special mention to passionate (गर्दी) audience who applauded at all the right places and finer notes.
I loved the concert so much that I composed a short poem about it. But the poem is for some other day to post.
A memorable concert that will be cherished.
