Amhi duniyeche raje (आम्ही दुनियेचे राजे)

Attended a concert titled 'Amhi duniyeche raje (आम्ही दुनियेचे राजे)'. The program was conceptualized, written & directed by Devendra Bhome. He was also the music arranger. The program was anchored by Abhijit Khandkekar and Gautami Deshpande. 

Singers were Jaydip Vaidya, Ashutosh Mungle, Mukta Joshi and Shruti Athavle. They were supported by Ketan Pawar on Tabla and percussion and Devendra Bhome on Keyboard and Harmonium. Lighting was handled by Tejas Devdhar. Kushal Khot was the manager.

This concert was organised on 25th Oct 2019, on the occasion of Diwali, by Maharashtra Mandal Abu Dhabi at Indian Islamic Center. I attended it with Mihika, Aditi, Sameer, Pooja, Jayant, Sucheeta, Prakash, Swati, Ashok and Savita.

Concept of this concert was unique. The idea was to present old melodies in contemporary styl,  somewhat like Coke Studio. Although creator dies, good creation doesn't die. The music, the words and tune remains the same but it is presented using contemporary instruments, style, musicians and singers. 

Concert started with the title song by Jaydip 'Amhi duniyeche raje (आम्ही दुनायेचे राजे)' which transformed seamlessly into 'Lakh lakh chanderi (लख लख चंदेरी)'. Mukta made an entrance with 'Rimzim paus (रिमझिम पाऊस)' & 'Saptapadi hi roj chalte (सप्तपदी ही रोज चालते)'. Ashutosh presented initial song of Pu La's 'Batatyachi chal (बटाट्याची चाळ)'. He presented it without music and was excellent. Shruti was the fourth singer and she started with 'Hi kuni chedli taar (ही कुणी छेडिली तार)'.

Jaydeep presented 'Shabdanchya palikadale (शब्दांच्या पलिकडले)' followed by Ashutosh's mukhda of 'Tu ashi jawali raha (तू अशी जवळी रहा)' and his two duets with Shruti 'Shukratara (शुक्रतारा)' & 'Jadu ashi ghade hi (जादु अशी घडे ही)'. Mukta came up with 'Raghupati Raghav gajari gajari (रघुपती राघव गजरी गजरी)' and 'Ye ga ye ga Vithabai (ये गं ये गं विठाबाई)'. Then came Shruti with 'Kausalyecha Ram (कौसल्येचा राम)', one of the best songs of this program. Last song before interval was Jaydip's 'Ghana Ghana mala nabhi datlya (घन घन माळा नभी दाटल्या)', an excellent rendition.

Post interval session started with Ashutosh singing 'Lajun hasane an (लाजून हासणे अन्)'. There was a technical issue with pre recorded music. He sung this song with chords and Tabla. Mukta presented sweet song 'Chanda tuza majla ka Mukunda lawiyala (छंद तुझा मजला का मुकुंदा लावियला)'.

Then it was Lawni time when Mukta and Shruti presented 'Ghatle bilwar, ghatli nathani (घातले बिलवर, घातली नथनी)' and 'Jigar khol'lyabigar aj jau naka (जिगर खोलल्याबिगर आज जाऊ नका)'. Both these lawnis were very good but unpopular. These were the only two songs I had not heard before. Then Mukta presented 'Padarawarti jartaricha (पदरावरती जरतारीचा)' written by GaDiMa. This song was greeted with a huge applause. Then she presented Sudhir Phadke's 'Mala lawkar gharakade jaudya (मला लवकर घराकडे जाऊद्या)'. Lawni session concluded with the evergreen 'Tumhawar keli mi marji bahal (तुम्हावर केली मी मर्जी बहाल)' by Shruti. Although this season was good, Dholki was sorely missed. Tabla simply can't replace Dholki.

Jaydip presented 'Sanga Mukund kuni ha pahila (सांगा मुकुंद कुणी हा पाहीला)' of Honaji Bala. This was the best song of the night. He demonstrated why he is a highly rated and sought after singer. All singers then presented Sudheer Phadke medley 'Janata ajanata (जाणता अजाणता)', 'Tocha chandrama nabhat (तोच चंद्रमा नभात)', 'Rupas bhal'lo mi (रूपास भाळलो मी)' and 'Dhundi kalyana (धुंदी कळ्यांना)'.

As the concert came towards conclusion, Mukta presented 'Neej mazya Nandalala (नीज माझ्या नंदलाला)', also one of the best songs of the concert. It was followed by Shruti's 'Zulwu nako hindola (झुलवू नको हिंदोळा)'.

Concert concluded with a bandish 'Dekho more saiyan (देखो मोरे सैंया)' and 'Aga vaikunthichya raya (आगा वैकुंठीच्या राया)'. End of concert did not have a crescendo and was a bit abrupt. 

Concept of this concert was innovative. It's like presenting the compositions (gem - हीरा) in new setting (कोंदण) without disturbing the soul. All the selected songs were basically presented in slow cadence with only essential music. Some songs were with live music, some with pre recorded music and some with a combination of both. While singing Sudhir Phadke songs his signature pronounced sha (ष) was missing. 

Interestingly, they did not restrict themselves to start the song from beginning. Some times they started from Mukhada, sometimes from start of Antara, sometimes from second or even third line. This was novelty and appealed to me as original. It also had a special effect.

Although the program had two anchors, singers and musicians contributed in narration through informal discussions interspersed with anecdotes and tales of music, musicians, song writers.

I went to the program hoping that it will not be marathi zankar beats and expecting something new. The program did not disappoint me. 

This was the 1st international performance of Amhi duniyeche raje. A little more finesse would help (like movement of the artists on stage), but it would come with more shows. Overall pace of the program appeared to be on slower side and it slowed down further during narration. Some attention required on this aspect. 

Ashutosh, Mukta, Shruti and Jaydip are very good singers. Their performance was flawless. Although assisted by pre recorded music, Devendra and Ketan were a good match for the singers. Anchors provided the star power and performed the task of the thread that binds the quilt. In short, all the singers were excellent, musicians were good, anchors did well, however, somehow,  overall effect of the program was not greater than sum of it's  parts. 

The concept of program is bold. There will always be a section of audience who does not approve deviation from the original. MMAD committee deserves credit for daring to go for this program instead of a traditional one for Diwali.

Trivia: Gautami is a qualified engineer and has worked as a professional in corporate world before entering show biz. She is also younger sister of Marathi actress Murnmayee Deshpande.

All the artists are very nice and cordial when not in limelight. They are not pretentious.

Sachin Patwardhan (Spanish Veena)

Attended a concert of Sachin Patwardhan (Spanish Veena) accompanied by Parag Dhadphale (Tabla) organized by Anubhooti at Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi, on 11th Oct 2019 with Aditi and Mane, Patil, Thangaokar, Oka families . Attendance to the concert was @ 90.

Sachin is a disciple of Utd. Amjad Ali Khan of Bangash Gharana. Parag is disciple of Pt. Suresh Samsnt and Pt. Sudhir Mainkar.

Spanish Veena is an instrument invented by Sachinji by adding strings to Spanish Guitar and making it suitable to play Hindustani classical music.

Sachin started the concert with bada khyal. It was late morning Raag Charukeshi. This is 26th melakarta raag from Cathartic music and is adopted into Hindustani classical music. He started with Aalap, Jod, Jhala. The base was created in this phase. Then he elaborated the raag with three bandishes. First bandish was in Rupak taal, second one was in Madhyalay Teen taal and last one was in Drut teen taal. He played Charukeshi for about 1 hour 15 minutes. 

Audience demanded a chota khyal. So it was another late morning Raag Gujri Todi of Todi thaat. This raag is very effective in producing karun rasa. He presented a composition in Teen taal. The crescendo of this raag was especialy good. 

Concert ended with my favourite Bhairavi. He presented Bhairavi first without Tabla. This was too good. Then he continued Bhairavi with Tabla and concluded the concert on a high note.

Sachin played Spanish Veena with ease. He displayed his dexterity in playing fine as well as strong notes, slow as well as fast lay and was applauded frequently. Sachin is also a very down to earth person, no ego.

Parag got his 5 min of fame 3 times and made good use of it. He too was encouraged by audience to play freely.

It was evident that these two artists were playing together for the first time. They were tentative initially but the stated to gel and the association grew as the concert proceeded. 

Sachin is the musician of new generation.  He is tech savy. He had his Macbook connected and had earphones plugged to one ear to get direct sound feedback. His Spanish Veena sound output was given directly to sound system so there was no microphones in front of him.

The concert lasted for 2 hours. Sound and lights were good. Embassy of India awarded certificates of appreciation to the artists. This was Anubhooti's 14th concert. 

Trivia: Sachin ji is originally a Sarod player and also plays violin. He is also an MBA. Parag is an engineer. A highly qualified duo. 

It was a unique concert because he is the only one who plays Spanish Veena.. 

Disclosure: I am a founder member of Anubhooti.

Shruti Gokhale (Vocal)

Attended a concert of Vidushi Shruti Gokhale (Vocal). Shrutiji was accompanied by Bhushan Rao (Tabla) and Meghan Shrikhande (Harmonium). This concert was organised on 21st Sep 2019. It was a home baithak organized by Triveni Sangeet Sabha.

Shruti ji, disciple of Mrs.Shubdha Paradkar and received guidance from Pt. Arun Kashalkar. She renders Gwalior, Agra and Jaipur Gayaki with proficiency and ease. Bhushan is a disciple of Giridharprasad Jaypurwale of Dilli gharana. Meghan is a disciple of Pt. Jitendra Abhisheki. Ruta Deshmukh provided vocal accompaniment. 

Although it was a little late (5.30 pm) for the raag, selected raag of the concert was afternoon Raag Bhimpalasi (भीमपलासी), a raag for Bhaktiras, of Kafi (काफी) thaat.

First she presented a bandish (बंदिश), 'Par na payo (पार ना पायो)', composed by Tansen Ramtanu Mishra, in madhyalaya teental (तिन ताल). Shruti ji created foundation, built on it and used alap and sargam for badhat.

It was followed by famous bandish 'Biraj mein dhoom machayo Shyam (बिरजमें धूम मचायो श्याम)' in drut Teen taal. Audience liked this short rendition of known song. 

She then presented sampoorna-sampoorna midnight raag Kafi, of course of Kafi thaat. Raag Kafi has direct lineage with folk music of India. Srinagar is principal rasa of this raga. 

She presented Thumri (ठुमरी) 'Kaisi ye dhoom machai (कैसी ये धूम मचाई)' made famous by Begum Akhtar and Girija Devi.

Next presentation was a Bandish 'Guru mata (गुरू माता)' composed by herself on her Guru Shubhada Paradkar in serious raag Bibhas (बिभास) of Bhairav (भैरव) thaat in Ada Chautal (आडा चौताल). Although it was not designated time of this raag, she sung it upon farmaish. It was a pleasant composition. 

Second half of the concert was dedicated to light music. She first presented a bhajan 'Chitarya chitre kadhi bhintiwari (चिताऱ्या चित्रे काढी भिंतीवरी)'. It was a composition of Bhajanbhushan Gajananbuva Patil in raag Shivaranjani (शिवरंजनी). Audience joined in as chorus for this and subsequent bhajans.

Based on audience response she chose another abhang of Gajananbuva Patil. It was 'Kela maticha pashupati (केला मातीचा पशुपती)' in raag Bageshree (बागेश्री) and Abhogi (अभोगी). This was a meaningful song by Sant Tukaram and it was a beautiful rendition. Shruti ji got emotional by remembering Gajananbuwa.

She then presented another Bhajan 'Ram Krishna Hari (राम कृष्ण हरी)' of Gajananbuwa based on Raag Bahar (बहार) in Teen taal (तिन ताल). Iit was followed by Gajananbuva's Gawalan 'Bai tuza ladka kanha (बाई तुझा कान्हा)' of Sant Eknath, based on raag Mishra Kafi.

Final rendition if the concert was 'Tu akash mi bhumika (तु आकाश मी भूमिका)' of Sant Namdev composed by Gajananbuva Patil. It was a Bhairavi (भैरवी), my favourite.

She presented a number of sweet compositions of Bhajanbhushan Gajananbuva Patil. I have become curious about this artist. Unfortunately not many recordings of his exist.

Shruti ji is a very down to earth person, no ego.  Her taans are very good and laykari is very good too. Her voice appeared to be strained. Especialy during bhajans she was struggling with her voice. Probably effect of yesterday's concert in Dubai?

Bhushan ji and Meghan ji, both local talents, ably provided apt accompaniment and were encouraged by audience.

Around 50 rasiks attended the concert. Bose sound system was good for the size of hall. 

It was a good home baithak.

Vivek Sonar (Bansuri)

Attended a concert of Vivek Sonar (Bansuri) accompanied by Ojas Adhiya (Tabla)  organized by Anubhooti at Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi, on 28th Jun 2019 with Aditi, Mihika and Mane, Patil, Thangaokar, Sambhaji, Oka families . Attendance to the concert was @ 140.

Vivek is a senior disciple of Pt. Hriprasad Chaurasia of Maihar Gharana. Ojas is disciple of Shri Mridangraj ji and belongs to Ajrada gharana.

Vivek dedicated this concert to Pt. Bhai Gaytonde who passed away previous day. Bada khayal of the concert was Raag Madhuwanti (मधुवंती), a romantic raag of Todi thaat.  It was the raag of the time of the day. 

He started with Alap followed by Jod. He played slow delicate notes and built the foundation for the badhat of raag. There was spontaneous appreciation and applause on many occasions. He demonstrated his skills in laykari as well as tantrakari. Tantrakari portion was fabulous. I realised that I did not change pose, in which I was sitting, until jod was over. At the end of jod, some one from audience said 'don't stop'. This was probably best presentation of the concert. Then he presented a composition in Madhyataal (9 matra), where Ojas joined him. 

He asked which raag would the audience like to listen next? Audience suggested Marwa. Although he did not approve of the raag because if its mood and timing, Marwa it was. Marwa the meditative sandhiprakash raag of Marwa thaat. He played it in contemplative fashion. 

Vivek then chose a peculiar raag, Raag Bhinna Shadja of Bilaval Thaat. It's also known as Kaushik dhwani. Never heard it played in a concert earlier. The gat he played was very good. This was a beautiful rendition. Towards the end of this Raag they played sawal-jawab. This was a feat to watch. Needless to say audience went ecstatic.  

  

Then he played a dhun from film Chandani, in Pahadi. It was Aditi's farmaish. Finally he played Pahadi Dhun which has birthed a number of hindi film songs. Audience was left to guess the hindi songs on this dhun.

By his choice of Raag and the presentation,  Vivek achieved a difficult feat of addressing the tastes of all kind of audience. Everyone got something of their liking. He mesmerized everyone. Vivek proved that he has the pulse of audience. 

Ojas displayed that he can play delicate, regular as well as lightening fast tabla with equal ease and finesse. He matched Vivek, stroke by stroke. 

Ojas challenged Vivek with his fluid tabla play and Vivek rose to the occasion and countered him with damdar tantrakari. It was heartening to see healthy competition on stage and it was a pleasure to watch. 

Audience was overjoyed and many came back to organizers lovingly protesting that they wanted the concert to go on for another half an hour. 

The concert lasted for 2 hours. Sound and lights were good. This was Anubhooti's 13th concert and came after a gap of one and half years. 

Trivia: Vivek informed that apart from his guru, Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia, Kishoritai Amonkar had taught Marwa raag to him.

A mesmerising evening. 

Disclosure: I am a founder member of Anubhooti.

Shalmalee Joshi (Vocal)

Attended a concert of Shalmalee Joshi (Vocal). Shalmalee was accompanied by Tejovrush Joshi (Tabla) and Anup Rajpurohit (Harmonium). This concert was organised on 27th April 2019. It was a home baithak. I attended the concert with Aditi, Sucheeta, Rucha and Pooja.

Shalmalee, disciple of Madhuri Kulkarni, Pt. Chintubuva Mhaiskar, Smt. Padma Talwalkar, Pt. Ratnakar Pai & Govindji Kalla, hails from Jaipur Atrauli gharana. Tejovrush is a disciple of Bapusaheb Patwardhan of Farukhabad gharana and son of Shalmalee. Anoop is a disciple of Sudhir Naik of P.Madhukar gharana. Shalmalee was assisted by Mallika Kilpady for vocals and and Girish Pande  on Tanpura.

Selected raag of the concert was Raag Gujari Todi (गुजरी तोडी). Gujri Todi is a 2nd prahar raag of Todi thaat (तोडी थाट). This raag is considered effective in producing karun ras (करुण रस).

First she presented a bandish (बंदिश), Jiyu mora chahe (जियू मोरा चाहे) in Vilambit Teen Taal. She started steady,  built up meticulously, consolidated base and then demonstrated variations that were appreciated and applauded by audience. Anoop was also applauded for his harmonium. 

She then presented bandish Sughara banaree (सुघर बनरी) in drut teentaal. This was a lesser known version (I think the one in Ada Chautal is more famous).

Final presentation of raag was Tarana (Tadiyan de re tadiyana tana). I had never heard this Tarana before. Her beautiful rendition was perfect. Audience was lost in the tune. 

She then presented second raag of the concert, afternoon Raag Madhamad Sarang (मधमद सारंग) of Kafi that (काफी थाट). The bandish was Mera rangeela banara banike ghar aya (मेरा रंगिला बनरा बनिके घर आया). She took her time in developing the raag and showing the variations to the audience. She then presented Rang-de, Rang-de a fast paced bandish. Tejovrush extracted his share of applause when rendition came to drut lay.

Her unique taans,gamak and laykari (specially of Jaipur Atrauli gharana) were liked by all. Clear notes, steady voice and variations are her forte. She is also a down to earth person. Tejovrush and Anoop are future stars in making. 

Normally concerts are organized in evening or night, so it's rare to get to hear morning and afternoon raags. This concert straddled noon and allowed the singer as well as audience to enjoy morning and early afternoon raags.

Around 40 real asiks attended the concert. Sound system was good for the size of hall. It was an excellent concert in informal atmosphere. 

Chirag Katti (Sitar)

Attended a concert of Chirag Katti (Sitar). Chirag was accompanied by Rajkumar Chaterjee (Tabla). This concert was organised by Kanan Music Circle at the residence of Girish and Sangya on 21st Feb 2019. I attended the concert with Aditi and Jayant.

Chirag, disciple of his father Pt. Shashank Katti, hails from Imdadkhani gharana. Rajkumar is a disciple of Pt. Arvind Kumar Azad of Benares gharana.

Bada Khyal of the concert was evening mishra Raag Puriya Kalyan ( पूरिया कल्याण) of Marwa thaat. He started with conventional Aalap - Jod - Jhala. Some of the audience left after this. He then presented two compositions. Tabla joined in for these. First was in Madhyalay Jhaptaal (10 beat cycle) and second was in Teen taal (16 beat cycle). Chirag and consequently the audience enjoyed the second composition. Finally crescendo when he played very fast, tabalji struggled a little bit to keep up. 

He then played a dhun in late night Raag Khamaj (खमाज) of Khamaj thaat. This raag has been explored more in the lighter forms. This was a familiar tune and everyone connected with it and enjoyed it. 

This was time to end the concert but audience wanted more and Chirag acceded to continue.  

So, Chota Khyal was 26th melakarta raag from Carnatic music, night Raag Charukeshi (चारूकेशी). He presented a short composition. From Charukeshi he moved to Raagmala. Here he played a number of known tunes. Audience liked it because they were able to recognize the tunes. (Marma bandhatli, Dere Kanha, Rasme ulfat etc.). Raagmala and concert ended with Bhairavi.

Chirag gave audience some impromptu lessons about Hindustani Classical Music. He explained how adding or removing one note one raag changes to another and then another (Kalawati to Janasammohini to Gawati to Vachaspati) etc.

Chirag displayed his command over delicate,  forte,  gayaki and jazzy notes. His meends received spontaneous applause from audience. 

I had heard Puriya Kalyan as Bada Khyal in a live concert only once earlier in Alladiyakhan festival. Puriya Kalyan is a blend of Raag Yaman and Raag Puriya.

Chirag is a perfectionist and took his time till the sound system was set to his satisfaction. Audience, sensing the perfectionist in him, waited patiently. 

Music system was decent but could have been sharper, especially, for finer and delicate notes. 

Entertainment rating 8/10.

Shreya Ghoshal

Mandar's concert report

Attended a concert of Shreya Ghoshal. Shreya was accompanied by male singer Kinjal Chatopadhyaya and supported by a number of musicians. Abhishek  (Keyboard), Prasanna (Flute), etc. The program was anchored by Sahil. This concert was organised by India Social and Cultural Center on 16th Nov 2018 at ISC rooftop. I attended the concert with Mane, Patil, Oak families, Priya, Santosh, Aditi and Mihika.

Concert started with Kinjal, who set the stage for Shreya's entry.  He sung three songs 'Tere mere sapne', 'O mere dilke chain' and 'Tuhi re'.

Shreya made her entry with a shimmering silver evening gown. She started with 'Kahate hai diwani Mastani to gayi' from film Bajirao Mastani. She has won Filmfare and many other awards for this song.  She followed it with 'Bahara bahara' from film I hate luv stories,  'Jadu hai nasha hai' and 'Tum mile dil khile'.

She then sung songs of Rahman 'Aja main Bahron mein' and 'Muze sans ayi'. Then they sung 'Manwa lage'  from film Happy New year, 'Main tenu samzawan ki', 'Shukran Allah' from film Kurbaan, 'Tere masta masta do nain' from Dabangg, 'Main wari jawan' and 'Dhire dhire' from movie Tango Charli. To appease majority local audience she also sung two Malayalam songs back to back. 

She then sung 'Rabta' from movie Agent Vinod followed by 'Pinga' from film Bajirao Mastani. Audience enjoyed this song very much. 'Barso re megha' and 'Ye ishq hai'. 'Nagare sang dhol baje' from film Ram Leela was the last song before she took a break. 

Kinjal filled the gap of Shreya"s absence by singing mukhdas of various songs like 'Aj janeki jid na karo', 'Ranjish hi sahi', 'Abhi na jao chodkar', 'Eshan tere hoga muzpar' and 'Kehna hai'.

Shreya reentered with a section dedicated to old songs. It was a medley of 'Chaudhvi ka chand', 'Wo sham kuch ajib thi', 'Kabhi kabhi', 'Aapki nazron ne samjha', 'Ab to hai tumse', 'Kya janu sajan', 'Aa Janejan', 'Piya tu ab to aaja' and 'Dum maro dum'. Speciality of this section was that she started every song unconventionally from antara, not mukhda. Shreya sung this section mostly on chords and audience sung with her. She then reluctantly moved to new songs of her own.

'Zubi dubi zubi dubi' from Three idiots, 'Karle maiden fateh' from Sanju, 'Uh lala' from film Dirty Picture, 'Radha teri chunri' from Student of the year, 'Chikni chameli' from Agneepath and 'Ghoomar' from Padmavat.

She then sung another Malayalam song in seven beats and turned back to Hindi with 'Teri meri meri teri prem kahani' of film Bodyguard. Then she moved back to regional with a Tamil song of Rahman and a Kannada song. 

In the last section she sung 'Tuzmein rab dikhta hai' from film Rab ne banadi jodi, 'Teri ore' from film Sing is king and then Bengali 'Ekla chalo re' of Rabindranath Tagore, 'Lagja gale', 'Sun raha hai' from Ashiqui 2 and concluded the concert with 'Mere dholna sun' from film Bhool Bhulaiya.

Shreya has a beautiful voice and She is an accomplished singer. Although she had the ipad on stand,  she hardly looked at it for lyrics,  she had them by heart. Even the non Hindi ones. Kinjal is also a very good singer and we will see more of him in future. 

Sahil, the anchor, tried to say a number of Shers, but many of them were poorly composed or not really rhyming. They sounded more Gadhe (गधे) than Sher (शेर).

Shreya made a faux pass in the beginning by thanking ISIS instead our ISC, but quickly rectified. She announced names of musicians but we were not able to pick all the names in the melee. Concert was supposed to start at 9 pm, but stated an hour late.

Lights on stage were overdone. Moreover, too many times harsh lights were thrown on audience, hurting eyes. It was irritating. Sound system was good but the audience at the very back complained that they could not hear clearly. 

Seating arrangement left a lot to be desired. We were seated half way down the seating area and the stage was at the same level as us,  so we were hardly able to see the stage relying on screens and ears. A graded arrangement is a must when the audience is more than thousand. 

All the songs were good and popular. Shreya is an excellent singer and musicians were good too. So the concert should have been wow! But somehow,  I felt that something was missing. Can't put a finger on it. Open air did not help either. 

Entertainment rating 7/10.