Milind Raikar (Violin)

Attended a concert of Milind Raikar (Violin) accompanied by Bhushan Rao (Tabla) & Yadnesh Raikar (Violin) organized by Anubhooti at ISC, Abu Dhabi, on 23rd Apr 2016. Attendance to the concert was @65.

Milind Raikar is disciple of Pt. D. K. Datar and Gaansaraswati Kishori Amonkar. Yadnesh is his 15 year old son and disciple.

Raag of the concert was Raag Puriya Dhanashri (पूरिया धनश्री). First he played aalap followed by madhyalay and drut compositions.

Then he presented bandish 'Payaliya zankar (पायलिया झंकार) in same Raag. At times when he wanted to play delicate notes he asked Bhushan to play soft tabla. He and Yadnesh played extremely well. Audience gave them a very long and big applause.

Then he presented a Bandish of his Guru, Kishori Amonkar, 'Sahela re (सहेला रे)' in Raag Bhoop (भूप). It was a treat. Both the violinists were applauded multiple times.

Then Milindji gave audience a choice of either Thumri or Natyageet. Greedy audience (that included me too) demanded both. Milind ji complied.

He presented the immortal Thumri of Bade Gulam Ali Khan 'Yaad piya ki aye (याद पियाकी आए)' in Raag Bhinna Shadja (भिन्न षड्ज). Milindji commented that the bandish he played was the original one without deviation as told by his Guru however what Yadnesh played was the version influenced by Kaushiki Chakraborty, which deviated from the original. Generation gap!

Then Milindji presented Marathi Natyageet 'Yuvati mana zale (युवती मना झाले)'. Audience who knew the song loved it and who did not know liked it nevertheless.

He then presented famous bhajan of Kishori Amonkar 'Mharo pranam (म्हारो प्रणाम)' in Raag Yaman Kalyan (यमन कल्याण). This too was liked by audience.

Concert concluded with 'Bhairavi (भैरवी)'. He played Bhairavi without Tabla. Without Tabla it was much more effective. It created a completely different kind of effect. It gave goose bumps to the audience. Mesmerizing!

Milindji's Violin literally sang. He played slow, delicate, fast. Everything was perfect. He extracted numerous applauses. His rendition touched the heart.

Yadnesh is a very good violinist. His understanding of music is beyond his age. Doubtless, he has a bright future.

The father son duo was a classic example. Father is a perfectionist and traditionalist whereas son is a talented rebel with great respect for father. However both share a great rapport. To top it up humility is in their nature.

Bhushan played Tabla as a pure accompanist. He was very true to lay (लय) and concentrated on basics rather than trying to be flashy. Very good.

There was some trouble with sound system and microphone adjustment, but it was sorted out.

Milindji especially mentioned that he liked idea of children presenting flowers to the performers and introducing artists. He encouraged the anchor, Mihika, by inviting her back on stage and presenting her a flower. He again appreciated Anubhooti for giving opportunity to children after concert.

All in all it was a fabulous concert. The audience was spellbound.

Entertainment rating 9.5/10.

Disclosure: I am a founder member of Anubhooti.

Pt. Harish Tiwari (Vocal)

Attended a concert of Pt. Harish Tiwari (Vocal) accompanied by Abhay Datar (Tabla) and Niranjan Lele (Harmonium) at 39th Sangeet Samrat Alladiyakhan music festival on 10th April 2016.

Harish Tiwari (Gwalior, Shyamchaurasi Gharana of Punjab and Kirana Gharana) hails from Delhi. He is disciple of Thakur Choubey, Ajeet Bhattacharya, Acharya Nandanji and Pt. Bhimsen Joshi.

Raag of the concert was evening Raag Puriya Dhanashree (पूरिया धनश्री) in Purvi That (पूर्वी थाट). He presented bandish 'Sumiro tero naam (सुमिरो तेरो नाम)' in Vilambit Ektaal. It took me long time to decipher the words, but finally I did. When he sung Aakar in higher octaves his voice became very delicate.

Second bandish was the famous drut bandish 'Payaliya jhankar (पायलिया झंकार)'. Everyone enjoyed.

He then asked the audience if they want Thumri or Bhajan. Not happy to choose one audience demanded both. So he complied.

First he sang Thumri 'Piya to manat nahi (पिया तो मानत नाही)' in Raag Mishra Kafi (मिश्र काफी).

Finally he sang bhajan (भजन) 'Roop pahta lochani (रूप पाहता लोचनी)' from Abhangwani. Audience heartily applauded him for singing a Marathi bhajan. Concert was supposed to end here, but public demanded one more and thus he concluded the concert with Bhimsenji's famous 'Tirtha Vitthal (तिर्थ विठ्ठल)'.

Organizers specifically appreciated him for singing Marathi bhajan and he politely replied that an artist belongs to everywhere.

Harishji is an accomplished singer. I particularly liked his Akars (आकार). Influence of Pt. Bhimsen Joshi on his singing was evident even to a non-expert like me. There was no need to tell that he is his disciple.

Tabla and Harmonium matched the singing stroke to stroke and note to note. Niranjan was applauded by audience.

Entertainment rating 9/10.

Dr. Monica Shah (Vocal)

Attended concert of Dr. Monica Shah (Vocal) accompanied by Niranjan Lele (Samwadini), Bhushan Parchure (Tabla), Sneha Gosawi & Darshana Purohit (Tanpura) on 4th Apr 2015 in Chembur, Mumbai. This concert was part of 'Sangeet Samrat Alladiya Khan music festival 2015'.

Concert started with Raag Puriya Dhanashree (पुरीया धनश्री). She sung two compositions. First was 'Dagari laga (डगरी लगा), not sure of lyrics. She built the bandish note by note as if she had all the time in the world, without hurrying. Second composition was 'Panaghatwa jane na paun (पनघटवा जाने ना पाऊँ)' in madhyalay teen taal. Surprisingly audience did not clap at the end of first bandish, but rectified it at the end of second bandish.

Then she presented Raag Kirwani (किरवाणी). She sung a bandish of her guru Pandit Rasiklal Andharia (पं. रसिकलाल अंधारीया), 'Tore bin mohe chain nahi brij ke Nandlala (तोरे बिन मोहे चैन नहीं ब्रिजके नंदलाला).

She ended the concert with a Chaiti (चैती) of her guru Girijadevi 'Chait mas bole re koyaliya (चैत मास बोलेरे कोयलिया)'. I had never heard Chaiti live previously. It was good.

It was the first time I heard name of Dr. Monica Shah. She sung well and was well prepared. To my untrained ears, it appeared that while singing in upper octaves, she sings in falseto.

Accompanying artists were good. I think tabalji missed a beat once. Harmonium was good.

Audience was miser while applauding. Probably they expected more. The duration of concert was about 1 hr 10 minutes. Attendance was @ 125.

An OK concert. Entertainment rating 7/10.

For more concert reports please visit
Mandar's Concert Reports
http://mandarconcertreports.blogspot.com/

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.