Swaralaya: Symphony on strings by Rahul Sharma

​Attended a Indian classical music concert titled “Swaralaya: Symphony on strings” by Rahul Sharma (Santoor). He was accompanied by Mukundraj Deo on Tabla, Avinash Chandrachud on Keyboard, Barkha Sharma on Tanpura. This concert was organized at Emirates International School auditorium, Dubai, on 7th May 2023. I attended with Jayant.

This concert was a tribute to the great Late Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, Guru and father of Rahul Sharma.

Concert started with Aalap, Jod, Jhala in Raag Rageshwari. This set the tone of the concert. It was followed by two compositions. First in Rupak taal and then a fast one. The section ended with Chakradhar. This section only had Tabla and Tanpura for accompaniment. 

For the second section Avinash joined on Keyboard. Rahul presented Pahadi dhun in light classical. This dhun reminded audience of natural beauty back home and freshened up the mood. He played first in madhya lay and then in drut lay. Avinash mainly played chords. Then Rahul played second dhun. It’s the one on which film song Dholna is based. 

Third section of the concert was Jazz. This was my first time to enjoy Santoor jazz live. The absence of drummer was compensated by Tabla and Keyboard compensated for saxophone. Avinash did very well in this section. I liked this section very much and so did the audience. It was a novelty. Would like to listen to more of it. 

Concert concluded with tribute to Shiv ji with famous Shiv-Hari song ‘Ye kahan aa gaye hum (ये कहॅां आ गए हम)’ from movie Silsila.

It was neatly organized concert with classical, light classical, jazz and film music. There was variety. Technically they played very well. No complaints. But somehow I felt that the soul was missing from the concert. Was it so or it was only I who thought so?

Rahul is a very good Santoor player. He is carrying forward the legacy of his father ably. He doesn’t hesitate to experiment with Santoor. Mukund Raj Deo hails from Banaras and Ajrada gharana and is a well known name in Indian classical music. Avinash Chandrachud has composed background score and music for several films with Vishwajit Joshi. They have also composed the wedding song for latest Hollywood movie Murder Mystery 2. Barkha is Rahul’s wife. She’s a fashion designer, author and classical dancer in addition to being a Tanpura player. 

Since this concert was a tribute to Shiv ji, I was expecting that Rahul will share some anecdotes and memories of his father. That was not to be. His tribute to his father was purely musical. It would have been appreciated either way. 

It is a good auditorium with good acoustics. Concert started half an hour late. 

“Surtaal 3” by Kaushiki Chakraborty, Bickram Ghosh and Rajesh Vaidya

Attended a Indian classical fusion concert titled “Surtaal 3” by Kaushiki Chakraborty (Vocal), Bickram Ghosh (Tabla) and Rajesh Vaidya (Veena). They were supported by Anay Gadgil on keyboard, Arunkumar on drums, Debopriya Chatterjee on flute. This concert was organized at Emirates International School auditorium, Dubai, on 4th March 2023. I attended with Aditi, Sucheeta and Jayant.

Concert started with Saraswati Vandana ‘Aao sajao mandir aaj (आओ सजाओ मंदिर आज)’, a Bandish in Rag Bageshree in Teen taal composed by her father, Pt. Ajay Chakraborty. Everyone excelled. Audience applauded multiple times to the sawal-jawab of all six artists. This start raised the bar for what was to come. While this was going on the curtain started to close. An apparent malfunction! It was a hilarious moment. But rather than getting annoyed Kaushiki and Bickram took it gamely and cracked a couple of jokes about it. A sign of great artists!

Next piece was led by Rajesh. It was a composition of Bickram Ghosh from album Rhythm Scapes. This rhythm riot transposed into ‘Baat chalat nayi chunari rang dari (बात चलत नई चुनरी रंग डारी)’ in my favorite Raag Bhairavi from 1957 movie Rani Roopmati.

Kaushiki (and all others) then presented two compositions. First was ‘Sajanwa kab aaoge (सजनवा कब आओगे)’ in Raag Mishra Pahadi. It’s a slow delicate composition of Kaushiki’s father. She then changed the mood with ‘Rangi Saree Gulabi chunariya re’ (रंगी सारी गुलाबी चुनरिया रे), a Dadra Originally sung by Shubha Gurtu.

That was interval. 

Second half started with ‘Little Krishna’, a composition from Bickram’s album Rhythm Scapes, loosely set on Raag Kalawati. This was a Tabla and Drums jugalabandi. Arun matched Bickram stroke-by-stroke, beat-by-beat. It was a rhythm riot. This was Arun’s show! No wonder Bickram rates him as India’s best drummer. Bickram played some innovative rhythm using his chest and face in sawal-jawab with drums. As if this was not enough, so they got down to sawal-jawab of bol. Sawal-jawab with audience clapping. Completely crazy!

Although it was not rehearsed, Kaushiki honored Farmaish from organizers by singing ‘Salonasa sanjan hai aur main hun’ (सलोनासा सजन है और मैं हूं). Originally sung by Asha Bhosle. 

Then they played a piece called ‘Gokul’ (गोकुल) from new, yet-to-release, album of Bickram and Rajesh. Everyone, except Kaushiki, contributed. Anay excelled with keyboard and drew applause. He is a talented artist. 

Upon audience’s insistent Farmaish Kaushiki sung ‘Yaad piya ki aye (याद पिया की आए)’, a Thumri of Bade Gulam Ali Khan, founder of her Patiala gharana. Her variations of ‘kuuk’ were awesome!

And then the concert ended. I was expecting a predetermined composition to end the concert but they ended it with a farmaish. It appeared like an abrupt end. 

Kaushiki is confluence of the beauty, the music and the beauty of music. Today she was wearing a Sharara and not a Saree. Bickram Ghosh, who recently received Sangeet Natak Acadami award, is a famous percussionist and is known for his innovative ideas and energy. Rajesh is a very well known name in Carnatic music. His Veena is a joy to watch and listen. Although they have performed with each other, this was the first concert of three together. 

Bickram held the concert together and controlled the pace, accelerating and decelerating as per the intended mood. Kaushiki was the soul of the concert. She has an impressive stage presence. Rajesh’s Veena brought an exotic touch to the fusion, giving that something extra, every time. Debopriya, Anay and Arun had a Herculean task of standing up these three stalwarts and complimenting them. They did admirably well. 

It was a rare occasion where Tabla was at the center and vocalist on the left. Bickram was sitting between Rajesh and Kaushiki. He was blocking line of sight (an essential element) between Rajesh and Kaushiki. He should have been little behind forming an arc rather than line. 

The graphics and focus lights behind the artists gave a mystic touch to the atmosphere but at the same time robbed the audience of clear photo opportunities.

All in all, it was an enjoyable concert. 

Babuji te Ajay-Atul (बाबूजी ते अजय-अतुल)

​Attended a concert titled “Babuji te Ajay-Atul (बाबूजी ते अजय-अतुल)”. Madhuri Karmarkar, Mandar Apte (my namesake, not me), Vidya Karalgikar were the singers. They were supported by Ameya Thakurdesai on Tabla, Zankar Kanade on Keyboard and Prashant Lalit on Keyboard. The concert was conceived and anchored by Mangala Khadilkar. This concert was organized by Maharashtra Mandal Abu Dhabi (MMAD) at Indian Islamic Center, Abu Dhabi, on 23rd Oct 2022. This was the Diwali concert. I attended with Mihika, Dada, Aditi and Sambhaji, Mane, Oka, Patil families.

The title of the concert made the theme abundantly clear. It was going to be a journey of Marathi light music from Sudheer Phadke until the Ajay-Atul.  Concert started with all three singers singing ‘Lakh lakh Chanderi tejachi (लखलख चंदेरी तेजाची)’ from 1940 film ‘Shejari’. Audience lapped it up immediately. It’s a melodious song. 

Real deal started with Babuji’s famous Hindi song ‘Jyoti kalash zhalke (ज्योती कलश झलके)’ in Raag Bhupali, originally sung by Lata Mangeshkar and presented by Madhuri. Vidya then presented ‘Zini zini vaje Veen (झिणी झिणी वाजे वीण)’. Written by Ba. Bha. Borkar, Composed by Shridhar Phadke and sung by Asha Bhosle. Mandar presented a song ‘Jenvha tuzya batanna (जेंव्हा तुझ्या बटांना)’ based on Raag Mishra Khamaj, Written by Mangesh Padgaokar, composed by Srinivas Khale and sung by Suresh Wadkar. Madhuri then presented ‘Kanadau Vitthalu (कानडाऊ विठ्ठलु)’. It’s a virani of Sant Dnyaneshwar, composed by Hridaynath Mangeshkar in Raag Yaman, sung by Asha. Madhuri sung well, especially when she sung the line Kanadau Vitthalu karnataku  with Kanadi drawl. 

There were two back-to-back duets. Music by Babuji, written by GaDiMa and Shanta Shelke respectively. First Mandar and Vidya presented  ‘Navin aj chandrama (नवीन आज चंद्रमा)’ followed by ‘Aj chandane unhat hasle (आज चांदणे उन्हात हसले)’ from movie ‘Kalank Shobha’ by Mandar and Madhuri. Vidya then presented ‘Jithe sagara dharni milte (जिथे सागरा धरणी मिळते)’. Original is Sung by Suman Kalyanpur, composed by Vasant Prabhu from movie ‘Putra vhawa aisa’. Vidya pronounced the ladik जिथ्थे perfectly. 

Second section was a medley of title songs of serials. All composed by one and only Ashok Patkie. It started with the song that started the era of title tracks, title track of Gotya ‘Beej ankure ankure (बीज अंकुरे अंकुरे)’ . This was followed by title tracks of Abhalmaya (आभाळमाया), Wadalwat (वादळवाट), Awaghachi sansar (अवघाची संसार), Pimpalpan (पिंपळपान), Maza hoshile na (माझा होशील ना?) and Tula pahate re (तुला पाहते रे). This is a genre, probably unique in Marathi, and it was given its due credit. 

Vidya presented ‘Firuni Navi janmen mi (फिरुन नवी जन्मेन मी)’. Composed by Babuji in Raag Pilu, written by Sudhir Moghe, sung by Asha. She also presented ‘Sukhache chandne (सुखाचे चांदणे)’. This one was sung on pre-recorded track. This was followed by Mandar’s ‘Kitida navyane tula athawawe (कितिदा नव्याने तुला आठवावे)’. This one was also on pre-recorded track. He is also the composer of the song and has won many awards for it. Audience demanded once more and Mandar obliged with one stanza. Madhuri then presented a Lawni ‘Chum chum payi waje ghungur (छुम छुम पायी वाजे घुंगुर)’

Mandar presented ‘Yeshil yeshil rani (येशील येशील राणी)’. Sung by Arun Date and composed by Yashwant Deo. Madhuri presented ‘Mi Radhika (मी राधिका)’ , composed by Shridhar Phadke and sung by Aarati Anklikar. Madhuri sung it very well with all the harkat. Mandar and Madhuri presented ‘Fite andharache jale (फिटे आंधाराचे जाळे)’ composed by Shridhar Phadke and sung by Sudheer Phadke and Asha. Written by Sudheer Moghe. Raag Mishra Bhairavi. Diwali concert is incomplete without a Diwali song. Here it was. Vidya presented the Diwali song ‘Ali mazya ghari hi Diwali (आली माझ्या घरी ही दिवाळी)’ from movie Ashtavinayak. It is composed by Anil-Arun, written by Madhusudan Kalelkar, sung by Anuradha Paudwal. 

Madhuri presented ‘Sakhyare ghayal mi harini (सख्या रे घायाळ मी हरिणी)’ from movie Samna. Written by Jagdish Khebudkar, Sung by Lata. Music Bhaskar Chandavarkar. Madhuri sung it very well. Request for once more was not granted. Mandar presented ‘Datun kanth yeto (दाटून कंठ येतो)’. Sung by Vasantrao Deshpande, Written by Shanta Shelke. Music Anil-Arun. The song is fantastic and Mandar sung very well. As a result one could see some wet eyes in the audience and overwhelmed with emotions. 

Next section was Lawni medley. Lawni is not Lawni without Dholki. Logistical constraints led to use of Tabla in place of Dholki. But Tabaji put his heart into the dholki piece. He also involved audience and made them clap to his rhythm. Madhuri started with’Kalidar kapuri paan (कळीदार कपुरी पान)’ she modulated her voice to suit Sulochana. Impressive.  It was followed in quick succession by ‘Patang udavit hote (पतंग उडवित होते)’, ‘Chala Jejurila jau (चला जेजुरीला जाऊ)’ & ‘Mala lagli kunachi uchki’ (मला लागली कुणाची उचकी). MMAD audience is known to shake a leg on rhythm. So the audience danced freely during Lawani medley. 

Sandeep Khare, Salil Kulkarni and Awdhoot Gupte collaborated to create ground breaking song ‘Dhipari dhipang (ढिपारी ढिपांग)’. It was presented by Mandar and Vidya. And then there was the finale with Ajay-Atul medley. It started with ‘Malharwari’ (मल्हारवारी), ‘Man udhan waryache’ (मन उधाण वाऱ्याचे), ‘Adhir man’ (अधिर मन), ‘Lallati bhandar (लल्लाटी भंडार)’, &‘Zingat (झिंगाट)’ The last one was played on track, not sung. Mandar tried to sing but couldn’t. 

Audience started the dance from Lawni medley and continued through Dhipari Dhipang and and into Ajay-Atul medley. The dancing members kept increasing. It started with ladies, then gents joined in, then the girls joined in until there was no space to dance and some of them had to stand down. 

Concert ended with ‘Ne majasi ne (ने मजसि ने)’. Immortal poem of Swatantryaveer Savarkar, composed by Hridaynath Mangeshkar. 

Title of the program was ‘Babuji te Ajay-Atul’. So I expected the program to unfold step-by-step, the transformations in Marathi music. It would have been great if the program was like an onion where the anchor peals one layer at a time and the ecstasy of. Music continues unabated. But the format had some entropy. Mind you, it was good, but could have been better. 

Madhuri had some difficulty to attain the very high notes on a couple of occasions. May be the temperature of auditorium! There was some problem with her mic, her words were not clear. However she got her act together quickly and delivered a good performance. Mandar doesn’t have a delicate voice like Arun Date, however he sings the emotional and delicate songs with ease. This gives him a command over wide range of songs. Rather than being a specialist of a genre, he is versatile. Vidya too is a good singer. She had the role of singing non-specialist songs and mostly flew under the radar. She’s definitely has potential. We should see more of her going forward. She appeared a little distracted. Musicians did well. Doing a program with just tabla and two keyboards is not an easy feat. 

Mangala Khadilkar is considered yardstick of anchoring. She has excellent command over Marathi and never used English words in Marathi sentences. She also can quote Marathi, Sanskrit and English quotes off the cuff spontaneously.

Program started half an hour late. Music system was ok. The auditorium was cold, probably by design, with everyone decked in traditional heavy attires and jewelry! Cold might have been the intention, in reality it was chilled. It made audience lethargic and probably a little parsimonious in applause initially. However as the concert progressed the audience warmed up and finally danced. It was a celebration! India Pakistan T20 World Cup match started towards the end of concert. It distracted the cricket loving audience. 

All in all it was a very good concert and audience left with a feeling of satisfaction and contentment. MMAD committee 2022-23 deserves credit for organizing a good memorable Diwali concert. 

Rahul Deshpande (राहुल देशपांडे)

​Mandar's concert report

Attended a concert of Rahul Deshpande (राहुल देशपांडे). Rahul Deshpande was the sole singer of the concert. Musicians were Nikhil Pathak on Tabla, Milind Kulkarni on Harmonium, Swapnil Pandit on side rhythm, Amrita Thakurdesai on keyboard, Rohan Wange on Octopad. This concert was organized by Megh Malhar and Rova consulting services at ERTH, Abu Dhabi, on 3rd Sep 2022. I attended with Aditi, Dada and Thangaokar, Oka, Patil families.

Concert started with a composition in Raag Puriya Dhanashree. It was little known bandish ‘Par karo araj suno’ in Madhyalay Jhaptaal. It took some time for the audience to warm up but Rahul sang very well and was ably accompanied. Second peshkash was ‘Bindiya le gayi hamari machhaliya’, a Dadra and a composition of Vasantrao sung by Priyanka Barve. 

He then gave a demo of how folk music is same all over the country by singing various folk songs with same tune. He then transposed the same tune into his song ‘Ram Ram Ram Ram jap kari sada’

Second section of the first half was Marathi songs. He started with a Natyageet from Sangeet Saubhadra ‘Radh dhar madhu milind jaya jaya’ followed by a song of his grandfather ‘Bagalyanchi mal phule’ written by Va. Ra. Kant and composed by Srinivas Khale Last presentation before interval was another natyageet ‘Jay Shankara Gangadhara’ from natak ‘Mandar-Mala’. Tabalji was fractionally late to pick up the beat. 

It was announced that second half was for farmaish. It started with ‘Pratham Tula wandito’ originally sung by Vasantrao and Anuradha Paudwal from movie Ashtavinayak. 

Then he sung Lata Mangeshkar’s ‘Tuj magto mi ata’ Rather than singing it traditionally, he explored this song in unplugged way. He then demonstrated how this song and famous gazal ‘Ranjish hi sahi’ have same tune. Shocking but true. Somehow, idea of bhaktigeet unplugged doesn’t appeal me because although you explore music, feelings (bhav) is lost. He then showed that ‘Malvun tak deep’ a romantic song composed by Hridaynath and sung by Lata Mangeshkar has same tune as that of Gazal ‘Ab ke hum bichade’ by Mehdi Hasan. He underlined that all music is composed with 12 notes and although the notes are same the feelings and emotions can be very different. Then he sung ‘Adh-e-gham mein’ a Ghalib again by Lata composed by K. Mahaveer.  

He then moved back to popular songs with ‘Ghei chand makarand’ from ‘Katyar kaljat ghusli’. It was followed by another song from Katyar kaljat ghusli, the movie. ‘Dil ki tapish hai’ based on raag Kirwani. Milind played harmonium beautifully in this song. The gymnastics that his fingers did in this one song was more than what he did in rest of the concert. Wow!

Rahul concluded the concert with peaceful rendition of a Nirguni Bhajan ‘Guruji main to ek niranjan’ by Pt. Kumar Gandharva. I wonder how many of these songs were part of farmaish?

Rahul is an accomplished singer and whatever he sings is good. So as far as the quality of singing is concerned he gets full marks. The musicians were good and complemented the songs. Special mention of Milind, the harmonium player. 

Now let’s talk about the content. I believe that the content of the concert wasn’t designed properly. There was no content manager or content designer. It was all decided by Rahul. Rahul is an artist. Artists go where their heart takes them. They are driven by the art and passion but the audience isn’t driven by the same traits. Audience comes to the concert with certain expectations. They look for popular songs, the songs which they can relate to, which they can connect with. A successful concert is the one that is enjoyed by the performer and the audience alike. Hence the concert should be designed with the tastes of both in mind. First half was more to the liking of Rahul, so it was expected that second half will be to the liking of audience. Audience craved for popular songs like ‘surat piya ki’ or ‘Ravi mi’ or ‘vithai vithai’  or popular nirguni bhajans like ‘Sunta hai guru gyani’ or ‘Avadhuta’ or ‘savare aijaiyo’. They weren’t in the concert. Also the theme of same tune different songs was repeated in both halves. 

Rahul was wearing black dress. Also the background was black. So he kind of merged in the background. A little color coordination was in order. 

Audience left with mixed feelings. He sung very well but something was amiss. Ye dil mange more!

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Dazzling Maharashtra (डॅझलिंग महाराष्ट्र)

Dazzling Maharashtra (डॅझलिंग महाराष्ट्र)

Attended a concert titled Dazzling Maharashtra (डॅझलिंग महाराष्ट्र). Singers were Chaitanya Kulkarni, Sharayu Date, Juili Joglekar, Anandi Joshi, Adarsh Shinde & Rahul Deshpande. Musicians were Nilesh Parab, Prasad Padhye, Krishna Misal, Vijay Jadhav on rhythm. Satyajit Prabhu, Mangesh Bhadkamkar on keyboard. Manish Kulkarni, Kishore on guitar. Other instruments Datta Tawde, Bharat, Nagesh. Mangesh was also the music arranger. The program was conceptualized by music director Rahul Ranade. Anchors of this program were Sachin Khedekar and Mrunmayi Deshpande. This concert was organized by Government of Maharashtra and GMBF at Grand Hyatt, Dubai, on 19th Nov 2021. I attended with Aditi, Dada and Kamble, Patil, Thangaokar families.

This concert was arranged on the occasion of Expo 2020 as a celebration of Marathi art, culture and cinema. It was attended by Maharashtra ministers Subhash Desai, Amit Deshmukh and Aditi Tatkare. So, there were multiple breaks for speeches of politicians and officials during the concert. 

Concert started with 'Deva Shri Ganesha (देवा श्री गणेशा)' sung by Chaitanya. Then Sachin Khedekar recited Mudra of Shivaji Maharaj but conveniently omitted "Go brahman pratipalak". Sad!

The sequence of songs started with Marathi film industry and Prabhat and V. Shantaram's Rajkamal. Sharayu Date presented 'Latpat latpat (लटपटत लटपट)'. Chaitanya Kulkarni then presented 'Sanga Mukund Kuni (सांगा मुकुंद कुणी)' from movie Amar Bhupali and followed it without a pause with 'Are ja re hat natkhat (अरे जारे हट नटखट)' with Sharayu. Juili Joglekar sang 'Lagli kunachi uchki (लागली कुणाची उचकी)'. Sharayu and Chaitanya presented 'Shola jo bhadke (शोला जो भडके)' and 'Ina Mina Dika ( ईना मीना डीका)' back-to-back.

Chaitanya presented 'Shoor amhi Sardar (शूर आम्ही सरदार)' composed by Anandghan a.k.a. Lata Mangeshkar from movie Maratha tituka melwawa. What started with Dholki jugalbandi by Krishna and Nilesh, and a very good one at that, transformed invariably into kadak Lawani 'Resmachya reghani (रेसमाच्या रेघांनी)' by Anandi. This Lawani lacked thaska (ठसका) and appeared soljwal (सोज्वळ). Audience demanded once more for Dholki jugalbandi and got it.

Adarsh and Anandi presented 'Malyachya malyamandi (माळ्याच्या मळ्यामंदी)' and 'Hil Pori Hila (हिल पोरी हिला)' back-to-back commemorating Dada Kondke. Rahul Ranade and Juili paid homage to RD Burman with 'Piya tu ab to aaja (पिया तू अब तो आजा)' and 'Duniya mein logonko (दुनिया में लोगोंको)'. Juili was very good and Rahul only had to sing in strange voice of RD. That was interval. 

Post interval concert started with Rahul Deshpande. He presented 'Ravi mi (रवी मी)'  from Sangeet Manapman (मानापमान) followed by 'Dil ki tapish (दिल की तपिश)', probably least famous song of movie Katyar kaljat ghusli. He then capitalized his popularity of internet by presenting unplugged 'Woh sham kuch ajeeb (वो शाम कुछ अजीब)' and 'Jhuki hui nigah mein (झुकी हुई निगाह में)'. That was the start and end of Rahul Deshpande. More like a guest appearance. 

Commemorating Mangeshkar's, singers presented nonstop 'Kata laga (कांटा लगा)' by Anandi, 'Mungla (मुंगळा)' by Sharayu and 'Ai mera dil (ऐ मेरा दिल)' by Juili. Then Anandi presented 'Jambhul piklya (जांभुळ पिकल्या)'. Then Adarsh presented 3 lokgeete nonstop 'Khandobarayache (खंडोबारायाचं)', 'Doke firlaya (डोकं फिरलया)', 'Awaj wadhaw DJ (आवाज वाढव डीजे)'.

Two songs from Natarang were sung by Anandi and performed by Sonalee Kulkarni (now settled in Dubai). They were 'Apsara aali (अप्सरा आली)'. She danced without ghongroo. Her movements were fast and graceful. In fact, her dance on stage was better than in movie. This was followed by 'Wajle ki bara (वाजले की बारा)', sung by Sharayu and performed by Sonalee. Two continuous dances took their toll and she slowed a little bit and the second dance was a little easy.

Last two songs of the concert were by Chaitanya. First 'Zingat (झिंगाट)' where he went in audience while they were dancing without inhibitions. Audience loved the dhamaal so much that once more was inevitable. Concert ended with 'Mauli (माऊली)' again by Chaitanya.

Sharayu has a sweet voice. When Chaitanya sang Marathi songs his voice was on the forefront and music in background. But when he sang Hindi songs, his voice fell short and words were not clear. Nothing wrong with sur and taal. He carried bulk of the workload. Decked in Blue kurta a and ble dhoti, an unusual combination that suited him. Juili and Anandi were good. I was expecting more from Adarsh. Rahul was the guest artist. Saw him singing, while standing, for the first time. 

Chorus was very good. I should make a special mention of them. There are some songs that sound good only if the chorus is good. This chorus was up to the mark.

Many of the musicians were known faces from TV shows (as were the singers) and all of them were good. TV shows have given recognition to the otherwise faceless musicians. 

It was a good concert. Enjoyable. A fresh breeze after the Covid gloom.

Deeparang (दीपरंग)

Attended a concert titled Deeparang (दीपरंग). Singers were Aniruddha Joshi and Rasika Joshi. They sang on pre-recorded tracks. This was a concert organized by Maharashtra Mandal Abu Dhabi (MMAD) at India Social and Cultural Center (ISC), Abu Dhabi, on 5th Nov 2021. I attended with Mihika, Aditi, Dada and Mane, Patil, Thangaokar, Oka families.

Concert started with vitthal nam. It was 'Abeer gulal (अबीर गुलाल)'. Aniruddha added his own variations while singing. It was followed by 'Maze maher pandhari (माझे माहेर पंढरी)' of Pt. Bhimsen Joshi. Aniruddha sang it in faster tempo compared to original. Rasika presented famous song composed by Lata Mangeshkar 'Airanichya deva tula (ऐरणीच्या देवा तुला)' from movie Sadhi Manse. It was followed by one of the most oversung song 'Mendichya panawar (मेंदीच्या पानावर)'. She went out of tune once in this song. Aniruddha then presented 'Khel mandal (खेळ मांडला)' from movie Natrang. Anuruddha drew applause the moment he began. Ajay Gogawle (of Ajay-Atul) had received best playback singer for this song in 2010. It was courageous to select this song, but Aniruddha did well and audience demanded once more although he didn't accede. 

They suddenly switched genre to Hindi. He first presented Sonu Nigam's  'Abhi muzmein kahi baki thodisi (अभी मुझमें कहीं बाकी थोडीसी)' from film Agneepath, composed by Ajay-Atul. It's a difficult song that he sung well. This time he agreed for once more but rather than playing track he asked audience to clap and provide rhythm. Rasika then presented Monali Thakur's 'Sawar lun sawar lun (सवार लूॅ सवार लूॅ)', composed by Amit Trivedi. She then jumped to Geeta Dutt's vintage 'Ae dil muse baat de (ऐ दिल मुझे बता दे). 

Aniruddha then sung the career defining song of Swapnil Bandodkar 'Radha hi bawari (राधा ही बावरी)'. Audience sang the mukhda of this song impromptu. Rasika and Aniruddha  then presented title tracks of Marathi TV serial 'Phulala sugandh maticha (फुलाला सुगंध मातीचा) and 'Online shubhamangal (ऑनलाईन शुभमंगल)'. They are the original singers of these tracks. Aniruddha then sang modern soofi song  'Mitwa (मितवा)' from film Kabhi alwida na kehna  originally sung by Pakistani singer Shafaqat Amanat Ali. Rasika presented 'Ruperi walut (रुपेरी वाळूत)' originally sung by Asha Bhosle and composed by her son Hemant Bhosle. It was followed by Lawni 'Reshmachya reghani (रेशमाच्या रेघांनी)' sung by Asha Bhosle and composed by Lata Mangeshkar. Ladies from the audience danced on this song. They presented a dhamaal duet 'Ashwini ye na (अश्विनी ये ना)' from film Gammat Jammat. Shantaram Nandgaokar had penned this special song without ळ and च, so that non-Marathi Kishore Kumar can sing it. Aniruddha yoddled well in this song. 

Sandeep Khare's Ganesh stawan in Kawwali, 'He lambodar gajmukh (हे लंबोदर गजमुख)' composed by Awdhut Gupte and sung by Farid Sabri was presented next. Towards the end of concert there was dhamal dance masti with a 15 minute medley of all kind of rhythmic songs. Audience enjoyed shaking a leg. 

Penultimate song was 'Deepawali manayi suhani (दीपावली मनाई सुहानी) because the concert was organized to celebrate Diwali. Grand finale was 'Mauli mauli (माऊली माऊली)' from film Lai Bhari sung by Ajay Gogavale.

Singers were good, song selection was good, however organization was lacking. The songs were not sequenced with any theme like time period, type, language, subject, mood etc.. They jumped from one kind to another as follows. Abhang - Old film song - new film song - new hindi songs- marathi song - marathi serial title tracks - modern soofi - again marathi romantic - kawwali - Diwali - Abhang. It appeared as if they were drawing chits and singing the song written on the chit. The thought process, theme, flow was lacking. Had this been properly thought and planned concert would have become even better.

All in all the singers (Aniruddha and Rasika) were well prepared. The music track did not have a glitch (Atul and Karim). The background visuals (Prachi) were pleasing. The two anchors (Akshay & Shreya) did their assigned job well and the script (Prashant) was well written and provided some unknown insights. If the anchors had recited Pu. La. Deshpande's 'Sanskruti mhanje kay', rather than reading, it would have been more impactful. 

Aniruddha interspersed his singing with small anecdotes about famous personalities. He also involved audience while singing and made the program interactive. He won hearts of audience. 

This program was special because it was a program after almost two years due to Covid. Members met after a long time so they took time socializing (while maintaining social distancing) causing inevitable delay of half an hour, but it was worth it.  

Aniruddha is winner of SaReGaMaPa and Sur nava dhyas nava. Rasika is also winner of multiple awards. 

A good concert. 

Disclosure: I am current trustee of MMAD.

Anoushka Shankar (Sitar)

Attended a concert of Anoushka Shankar (Sitar). She was accompanied by Ojas Adhiya (Tabla), Prashanna Devraja (Mridangam, Ghatam & Morsing), Danny Keane (Cello & Piano), Somdutta Basu (Tanpura) and Ravichandra Kulur (Bansuri & Kanjira). I attended this concert at Dubai Opera on 20th Dec 2019 with Jayant, Sucheeta, Sameer, Rucha, Pooja, Deepa and Nandu.

Concert started with 'Voice of the moon' in midnight Raag Kirwani. This was one of the early compositions of Anoushka.

She then played a piece titled 'Jannat' which she composed more than 10 years ago. She candidly confessed that she tried to include it in various albums but it was rejected. However, she likes to play it live. There was Sawal-Jawab between Tabla and Mridangam in this composition.

It was followed by piece titled 'Red Sun' from her album 'Rise'. This was a curious piece. Cello gave the chords and purcussions were provided by bol.

Main piece of the concert was 'Shiraz'. It was a musical rendition of a 1920s silent film by same name, a fictionalised account of love story that led to building of Taj Mahal. The composition started in Raag Bihag. It was an interesting concept of narrating a story through music. There was Kanjira-Ghatam jugalbandi, Cello-Morsing jugalbandi, Tabla solo (Ojas simply dazzled everyone with his dexterity and won a long applause), Mridangam solo, Tabla-Mridangam jugalbandi, Piano solo and all of them playing together. This piece concluded with a thunderous applause. 

Then they ask got up, did Namaskar to audience,  took a bow and left.  Just like that the concert was over. Audience was flabbergasted. They could not believe that the concert was over in just 1 hour 20 minutes. Finally reality sunk in and audience reluctantly left Dubai Opera. 

Piano and Cello player had musical notes in front of him while Tabla, Mridangam and Bansuri played improviso and so did Anoushka.

This was not a typical Hindustani Classical music concert. There was no build up of Raag with Aalap-Jod-Jhala. Concert was made up of various pieces composed by Anoushka. Five instruments were playing at the same time. So it was like a cross over concert. 

Participation of Ojas was a surprise because he was married only two days ago. Hats off to his dedication and thanks to his new wife. 

Anoushka in wine red evening gown and long earrings looked gorgeous. Colours of kurtas of accompanying musicians were also chosen carefully to not disturb colour coordination, except the chilly of sari of lady on Tanpura. 

Dubai Opera is a fantastic auditorium. Very impressive. Seating is very well laid out. Everyone gets clear view of stage without obstruction. Acoustics are also excellent. Auditorium enhances the experience. 

I left the concert with a feeling of dissatisfaction. We went for the concert from Abu Dhabi to Dubai but felt that she should have given more time for the audience.

 A good concert, but too short.