Parmeshwar Hegde (Vocal)

Attended a concert of Pt. Parmeshwar Hegde (Vocal) accompanied by Pt. Sadanand Nayampalli (Tabla - Farrukabad Gharana) and Sudhir Nayak (Harmonium - P.Madhukar Gharana) at 39th Sangeet Samrat Alladiyakhan music festival on 7th April 2016.

Parmeshwar Hegde (Kirana, Gwalior and Patiyala Gharana) hails from Bengaluru and is disciple of Pt. Basavaraj Rajguru.

First Raag of the concert was Raag Bihag (बिहाग). He went directly to bandish 'Kaise sukha sove (कैसे सुख सोवे)', with minimum aalap, in Vilambit Ektaal. Tabla instrument had some trouble and had to be tuned repeatedly. I especially liked his delicate taar swar (तार स्वर). It was followed by Tarana 'Ta da re dhim (त दा रे धीम)'.

He presented famous Bandish 'Binati suno mori (बिनती सुनो मोरी)'. Although he did not announce the Raag, it was Raag Bageshri (बागेश्री). His Taans (तान) and Aakars (आकार) were very good. He followed it with 'Sargam (सरगम)'.

Concert concluded with another composition in Raag Bageshri (बागेश्री) in Teen taal (तीन ताल);  'Badra tu ja (बदरा तु जा)'.

Pt. Nayampalli played subdued Tabla in supporting role. He did not smile even once during the concert.

Harmonium of Sudhir Nayak was excellent and was appreciated by audience and artist alike. Too good.

Concert lasted for about 1 hr 10 min.

Entertainment rating 8/10.

Musical trilogy - Girish Pande (Vocal), Parag Dhadphale (Tabla) & Dharitree Joshi (Vocal)

Attended a concert of Girish Pande (Vocal), Parag Dhadphale (Tabla) & Dharitree Joshi (Vocal) titled 'Musical trilogy'; accompanied by Meghan Shrikhande (Harmonium) & Somdatta Basu (Harmonium) on 6th Nov 2015 at Nando's restaurant hall, Dubai with Nandu, Jayant, Vivek and Satya. The concert was organized by Sur Hindol.

Concert started with Girish Pande's vocal accompanied by Parag Dhadphale and Meghan Shrikhande. He presented 'Akhiyan taras rahi' in Raag Maru Bihag (मारू बिहाग). During Aalap, the instrument volume was masking the vocal. Then he presented bada khyal 'Mora man mane na'. He concluded his section with 'Re balamwa mora' in Raag Kalawati (कलावती) followed by Marathi song 'Pratham tuj pahata'. Public demanded another song and he complied by presenting bhajan 'Ram ka gungan kariye'.

Girish sung technically correct. His Aalaps were especially good. However to me he appeared a little bit subdued. Was it because he was extra cautious or was it because of performance jitters? He appeared more at home in last two compositions. I know that he can sing even better.

Parag Dhadphale presented solo Tabla in second section. Somdatta Basu was on harmonium. He displayed humility by attributing all that would be good to his Guru and all that would be wrong to himself. His first presentation was 'Teen taal (तीन ताल)'. While audience anticipated every time, he took his own sweet time to come on sum (सम) initially. Then he played a traditional Kayda (कायदा) of Delhi gharana (दिल्ली घराना) bestowed by his Guru Pt Suresh Samant and another Kayda of Delhi guarana composed by his Guru Sudheer Mainkar. Then he presented a very old, sweet and complicated Kayda, a Rachana of Panditji followed by three compositions non stop and mesmerized the audience. Then he presented a composition that could be a fight between school kids followed by a composition of Samta Prasadji. Next he presented a Rachana (रचना) from Punjab, a few tukdas and farmaish chakradar, a novelty. He concluded with a seven matra composition from Banaras.

Parag is a well known name in Dubai and he played to his reputation of being one of the best Tabalji in Dubai. He played excellent tabla and was applauded many times. It was a joy.

Dharitree Joshi-Bapat was the performer of final session. She started the concert, expressing her respect to Guru, with Raag Bageshree (बागेश्री) in Jhumra taal. She presented Khyal (ख्याल) 'Dhoondh rahe naina' followed by drut 'Sumaran karat rahat nisadin' and tarana. Then she presented 'Kaise kaise bolat' in Raag Nat Bihag (नट बिहाग), a speciality of Agra gharana, followed by 'Jhanjhan jhanjhan payal baje'. Her next item was 'Hori hori hori khelat Nandlal', a Chatrang (चतरंग) in Adana.

Due to public demand program concluded with a natyageet 'Guntata hriday he' by Meghan Shrikhande. Although he sung well, it was out of sync with the theme of the concert. He was reluctant for this very reason but eventually complied.

Parag, Somdatta and Meghan were very good as accompanists. They did not try to outdo the main artists but demonstrated their skills and were appreciated by the singers and audience.

It was a small audience, sound system behaved, temperature was a bit high. With three performers, it was essential to have proper time management. This was not controlled and the concert became too long. Spectators started to leave in the third session. I too had to leave before formal closure.

Entertainment rating 6.5/10 but considering that the artists were local it should be upgraded to 7.5/10.

Padmashree Shubha Mudgal (Vocal)

Attended concert of Padmashree Shubha Mudgal (Vocal) accompanied by Dr. Aneesh Pradhan (Tabla - तबला), Sudheer Naik (Samwadini - संवादिनी) and Diya Kundu (Tanpura & Vocal accompaniment), a very young disciple of Shubhaji. The concert was part of Emirates NBD Classics III series at DUCTAC, Dubai on 5th Dec 2014. I attended the concert with my father-in-law. Thanks to Kumar.

Concert started with Raag Bageshree. She presented two compositions. First was 'Sajan bahu gun kam na aye..' in vilambit Ektal and second 'Harawa gundh lao ri..' in madhyalay Teen taal.

Then she spresented two short compositions in Raag Chhayanat composed by her Guru Ramashreya Jha alias Ramrang. First composition was 'Aaj man laago mero ...' in  Jhaptaal (This was composed as a tribute to Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande, the great). Second composition was 'Kar kanganwa..' in Teen tal. This was a beautiful composition about how Sita sees Ram's reflection in her bangle before garlanding (marrying) him. It was my first time to hear Raag Chhayanat live and I liked it.

Then she presented Bol Banao Thumri 'Piya ke jagaye, jaag pari main to ...'. Bol Banao Thumri is speciality of Banaras gharana (Purvi ang). This Thumri was different. It was slower than Thumris I know. Aneeshji got a free hand towards the end and he was very good.

Final composition was Jhula ' Dheere dheere jhulao ...', taught to her by Naina Devi. Jhula is influenced by folk music and is a speciality of Uttar Pradesh.

After she concluded a farmaish (request) was made for Dadra 'Sunder sari mori ...' And Shubhaji fulfilled the request. But it did not end there. Audience urged her to sing Thumri 'Balam tere zagde mein rain gai ...' She liked the farmaish and sung it.

Start appeared a bit tentative to my untrained ears, but then Shubaji sung very well (goes without saying). I especially enjoyed her aalap.

Sudheerji also plays harmonium with great command and was applauded by audience. Understanding between Shubhaji & Aneeshji was excellent. Being Husband-Wife helps!

Sound system did not give any trouble and temperature of auditorium was not cold. Infact I would have preferred a couple of degree Centigrades lower.

Raag Chhayanat, Bol banao Thumri, Jhula & Dadra .. Wow... This concert was definitely 'different' and out of beaten track.

A very good concert. Entertainment rating 8.5/10.

Dr. Kavita Gadgil (Vocal)

Attended concert of Dr. Kavita Gadgil (Vocal) accompanied by Nandkishor Banchhode (Tabla) and Subodh Godbole (Sanvadini) organized by Anubhooti at India Social and Cultural center, Abu Dhabi on 31st May 2014.

Concert started with raag Puriya Dhanashree in Vilambit Tritaal. Then she presented a bandish 'Mushkil Karo asan kwaja mere (मुश्किल करो आसाँ ख्वाजा मेरे)'.

Second raag of the evening was raag Bageshree in Vilambit tritaal. Kavitaji's rendition in kharj (lower octave) was especially good. She followed it with bandish 'E ri man sajan nahin aye (ए री मान साजन नहीं आए)' and bandish 'Jhagara karat pakadlini baiya marodi (झगरा करत पकडलीनी बैंयाँ मरोडी)'

Next offering was Raag Durga. Kavitaji sung only bandishes in Durga. First bandish was 'Atahi ghanghor (अतही घनघोर)'. Next bandish was 'Mata bhavani Kali (माता भवानी काली)' followed by tarana. This tarana was so good, it gave goose bumps to the audience.

Then she presented a bandish in raag Tilak Kamod 'Kar pakarat mori baiyan (कर पकरत मोरी बैंयाँ) followed by Hori 'Rang darungi Nand ke lalan pe (रंग डारूंगी नंदके लालनपे)'.  Audience appreciated this Hori a lot by accompanying her with claps. This hori is included in her maiden album that will be released soon.

Then she presented a natyageet "Vad jau kunala sharna ga (वद जाऊ कुणाला शरण गं)". Kavitaji had received gold medal from government of Maharashtra for this natyageet.

Concert ended with a bhaktigeet (भक्तिगीत) 'Saincha zala Prasad (साईंचा झाला प्रसाद)' in bhairavi.

Needless to say Kavitaji is a very good singer, each of her swar is distinct. Her variations in aalap were excellent. Although she belongs to Jaipur gharana, she sung bandishes of Kirana and Agra gharana with equal command. Tarana and Hori were the highlights of the concert. Kavitaji's voice though appeared stretched. It might be because of tiredness or change of weather. She was having difficulty in maintaining good voice in last two songs.

Subodh played well and followed Kavitaji precisely. He was better in second half. They had no practice session before concert.

Nandu played excellent tabla in pockets but appeared distracted other times.

A very good experience. Entertainment rating 9/10.

Disclaimer: I am a founder member of Anubhooti.