Kum. B. Lakshmi Surya Teja (Vocal)

Attended Carnatic Vocal concert of Kum. B. Lakshmi Surya Teja (Vocal) accompanied by Smt. Sita Raghu (Violin) and Shree. Skanda Kumar (Mridangam) organized by India social and cultural center at ISC Auditorium, Abu Dhabi on 20th Sep 2014 with Jayant, Sameer and Raju.

This was my first time to attend Carnatic vocal concert. The vocalist is pursuing her masters degree in music and has won many awards. She hails from Vishakhapattanam and this is her first international tour.

The concert started with a varnam in Ragam Saweri. This was followed by famous composition 'Maha Ganapati manasa smarami'.

She then presented a composition by Nallacharavartulu Krishnammacharulu in Raga Basant followed by another composition '...mahishasur...' In Raga Kanada.

Next was Raga alapana in Amritvarshini. Here she asked the audience to observe their breath in and breath out. Then the violinist played a solo piece. This was followed by a composition 'Sudhamayi'. Skanda did well in this composition. 'Shri Rama pada...' was next.

Kailas Radhenam by Mutthuswami Dikshitar in Raga Kambhoji in Tisrajathi Triputa talam, the main item of the concert. Here she showed a lot of variations and her range. This was undoubtedly the best of the concert. However in this phase of the concert her good voice decided to abandon her. When it threatened to become a spoil sport, she recovered. All three of them were at their best in this section.

Then there was a section of short compositions. It started with 'Tamburi mitti...' of Purandardas in Sind Bhairavi followed by 'Kamal mukha Rama bhajan...' followed by Kabir's  'khaya piya sukhse soya...' followed by 'Govind Hari Govind...' then one more and finally 'Shubha mangalam....'

Peculiar thing was that the artist did not use tanpura, conventional or electronic. Her voice did not appear to be at its best, had some difficulty in higher octaves. Coughing was evident.

The hall chosen for the concert was too big with seating capacity of more than 500 but the attendance was about 50. Smaller hall is more suitable for such concerts.

Entertainment rating 6.5/10.

Padmini Rao (Vocal)

Mandar's concert report

Attended concert of Padmini Rao (Vocal) accompanied by  Parag Dhadphale (Tabla) and Subodh Godbole (Sanvadini) organized by R-square risklab at Embassy of India Auditorium, Abu Dhabi on 20th June 2014 with Jayant, Amit and Raju.

Concert started with evening raag Puriya Dhanashree (prabhu re tu - प्रभु रे तू). Padminiji presented three compositions bada khyal in vilambit ektaal , chota khyal in drut ektal and tarana. These were compositions of Dr. Prabha Atre.

Second raag of the evening was raag Bhupali. She sung two compositions. First in madyalay ektaal followed by Tarana. These were also compositions of Dr. Prabha Atre.

Padminiji then moved to semi classical segment of the evening. This was a Meera bhajan (Mhare ghar aao ji pritam pyara - म्हारे घर आओजी प्रितम प्यारा) in Raag Khamaj. This was her own composition, and what a good composition it was. Her marwari pronunciation was also perfect.

Then she presented very famous Thumri (yaad piyaki aye - याद पियाकी आए) of Ustad Bade Gulam Ali Khan. She sung this very well and audience liked it.

Concert ended with Dadra in Bhairavi (Mori maili ho gai chunariya - मोरी मैली होगई चुनरिया). This was a composition of Dr. Prabha Atre.

Padminiji is a disciple of Dr. Prabha Atre,  doyenne of Kirana gharana and Ustad Zia Moiuddin Dagar, Dhrupad Rudraveena maestro. Needless to say Padminiji is a very good singer, however she seemed to have throat irritation. She introduced the uniniated audience to Khayal gayki by giving background information before start of concert.

Subodh played well and followed Padminiji precisely.

Parag is a very good tabla player and he played very well today. He plays with ease and without theatrics. Padminiji appeared very happy with him.

Audience response was a bit cold today. Applause was measured rather than whole hearted.

Concert started half an our late. It was attended by around 60-70 rasiks. Sound system was not optimum today. Auditorium was chilled.

A 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.

Amman Ali Khan (Sarod) and Ayyan Ali Khan (Sarod)

Attended concert of Amman Ali Khan (Sarod) and Ayyan Ali Khan (Sarod) accompanied by Satyajit Talwalkar (Tabla) and Anubrata Chaterjee (Tabla) as part of Emirates Classics III, at DUCTAC, Dubai on 2nd May 2014. This was my second time to watch Amman-Ayyan live.

Concert started with raag Shree. They presented two compositions. First in Jhap taal and second in Teen taal.

Then they presented raag Desh first in Ada Chautal and then in Teen taal. The compositions they played were of their grandfather Haafiz Ali Khan Saab.

Raag chaukeshi in teen taal was the next offering. Chrukeshi is a raag from South Indian system of  Indian classical music.

A folk tune from Bengal (Bhatiyali) was played next. I have heard this played by their father many times earlier.

Saraswati was then played for five minutes upon Satyajeet's recommendation. Then they moved to raag Kirwani for the conclusion and achieved the grand finale.

Amman and Ayyan play very well. They   are seventh generation sarodiya's. They definitely are two future Ustad's. Ayyan's Sarod was giving him trouble and had to be tuned frequently.

Both tabalji's were too good. Credit should be given to them for playing so well and to Amman-Ayyan for choosing tabalji's who are as good and at times even better than them. As compared to concert of Amjad Ali Khan last year (where these four accompanied him) tabalji's were given lot of free hand in this  concert.

Auditorium was not full despite it being a week end. It appears that since DUCTAC increased the ticket rates by 50%, sales have taken a hit. It's unfortunate that this has impacted patronage to Indian classical music. Sound system also gave a lot of trouble with whistling sound.

Amman and Ayyan are Ustad Amjad Ali Khan's sons. Satyajit is Talayogi Pandit Suresh Talwalkar's son and Anubrata is son of Pandit Anindo Chaterjree. So the players had a very strong lineage of classical music. However all said and done, I did not come out of the auditorium very satisfied. I did not feel that the performers gelled well.

Entertainment rating 8/10.

Ustad Shujat Khan (Sitar) and R.Prasanna (Guitar)

Attended Hindustani- Carnatic fusion concert of Ustad Shujat Khan (Sitar) and R.Prasanna (Guitar) accompanied by Ojas Adhiya (Tabla), B. Amrit (Kanjira) and P. Ravindran (Mridangam)  as part of Emirates Classics III, at DUCTAC, Dubai on 17th April 2014 with Raju and Jayant. This was my second time to watch Shujatji live.

First section of concert was played by Prasanna with Mridangam & Kanjira.

The concert started with Prasanna playing a composition of Muthuswamy Dixitar. Then he played a composition in raaga Suddha Saweri & another composition demonstrating his command on guitar.

The percussionists played jugalbandi after that.  Audience loved it & was applauded a lot. Prasanna ended this section with a composition called 'Bowling for peace', a composition from his album, a fusion.

Second section was played by Ustad Shujat Khan. Solo initially and then with tabla & mridangam. This section consisted of only one composition.

He played Jhinjhoti (aalap jod) followed by a composition. He termed the style of playing as 'informal'. Shujatji played sitar nimbly and applauded  the percussionists encouraging them .

This section took the concert to a different height. The trio played exceptionally well and took audience to the edge of ecstasy. They deservedly received standing ovation.

Final section was a jugalbandi of Prasanna and Shujatji with the three percussionists.

First Shujatji sang a gazal while playing sitar in this section. The lyrics were very good but the singing slowed down the tempo.

Then they all played together. This was my first time to watch Hindustani - Carnatic jugalbandi. The artists regained the lost tempo in this section. Prasanna garnished this section with some western style guitar play.

Concert ended on a high with all the musicians playing crescendo.

Volume of sitar was little loud & sometimes smothered sound of guitar. Program started almost half an hour late. Attendance was not very encouraging with only half of the auditorium full, probably because it was a working day.

Shujatji has lightning  fast fingures and played with ease. It is a delight to watch him playing. He also sings very well. I would, however, prefer sitar over vocal. Tabalji Ojas was a thin young man. But he played like a hurricane. He matched Shujatji stroke by stroke. Too good. This was my first time to watch carnatic classical music played on electric guitar. Another novelty was that Mridangam was placed on a custom made low stand.

Enjoyed the concert. Entertainment rating 9/10.

Betal zalet sur (बेताल झालेत सूर)

Mandar's concert report

Attended 'Betal zalet sur (बेताल झालेत सूर)', a program of Marathi parody songs (विडंबन गीते) on 11th April 2014 at India Club, Dubai. This was 202nd show of this program and first time out of India.

Before the start the artists challenged audience not to laugh even once during the program. Needless to say, they won.

Program started with Ganesh Vandana (गणेश वंदना). They presented one type of song in  another song's tune and vice versa. Some fusion, some new songs in old tunes accompanied by witty commentary.

Parody can be of anything. Style of singing, tune of the song, wording of the song, naughtiness, style of various musicians etc.. The artists used all these styles to create parody. They used all types of songs like folk songs, bhav geet (भाव गीत), filmy songs, tamasha (तमाशा), bhajan (भजन), light songs, lullaby(अंगाई), lavni (लावणी), qawwali, classical music and even ukhana (उखाणा - there is no English name for this)

There is a very thin line between naughtiness and vulgarity. This program never crossed that line and was enjoyed by everyone with their families. The singers and musicians were good and remained in sur (सूर).

The only deficiency I could note was that they mostly used existing songs and the contribution of newly written & composed songs was limited.

This program was presented by an amateur group of 11; consisting of entrepreneurs, doctors, chartered accountants, managers and engineers. It was lead by Shri. Chandrasekhar Vaze (One on extreme right in photograph). Mr. Vaze is Chairman of Jankalyan sahakari bank. The group consisted of four singers, a tabalji, a dholki player, a side rhythm player, a bansuri player, a harmonium player and two narrators.

The artists promised a program filled with fun and entertainment and confirmed that there will be no seriousnessa and the audience will enjoy.

They delivered. All in all a satisfying program. Entertainment rating 8.5/10

xxx xxx (Tabla)

Attended Tabla concert of Shri xxxx xxxx (Tabla) accompanied by Nandkishor Banchhode (Tabla) and Sandip Khairnar (Sanvadini - Harmonium) organized by Anubhooti, at Embassy of India auditorium, Abu Dhabi on 11th April 2014.

This was xxxx xxxx's first international solo concert. Anubhooti introduced him to international audience. The chosen taal for the concert was Tritaal.

The concert started with Peshkar. It was followed by Ajrada Kayda. Audience applauded the artists multiple times not only demonstrating appreciation of performance but also their knowledge.

Then Nandu presented Ajrada Kayda and demonstrated how a disciple follows his Guru's foot steps. This Kayda ended with synchronized chakradar.

In the next rela xxxx demonstrated how soft tabla can be played most effectively.

Farmaish bandish in madhyalay teental followed by a medley of compositions, bandishes, chakradar, Punjabi chakradar, bedam chakradar, tukdas, sawal-jawab & lagge.

xxxx modesty was evident when he requested audience to excuse for any mistakes as they have practiced only for 3-4 days. If they can perform so well with such little practice, imagine what they can do with more practice.

Nandu has shown marked improvement in his tabla playing over last year. He played very well and was appreciated by xxxx. Now Nandu has 'hot fingers'.

Sandip had to be corrected by xxxx on a couple of occasions, otherwise he did well. Although playing lehra seems simple, actually it is very difficult.

When the performers enjoy playing, the audience enjoys listening. This concert was pure joy. Entertainment rating 9/10.

Disclaimer: I am a founder member of Anubhooti.