Rajan & Sajan Mishra give cultural fest Anubhooti a flying start

Nagpur: The third edition of art festival Anubhooti got off to a flying start on Thursday with a scintillating performance by maestros of khayal gayaaki from Banaras gharana, Rajan and Sajan Mishra.
At the aesthetically decorated venue, fans of Hindustani classical music gathered to fill the auditorium even as the programme began half an hour late. Carrying with them a 300-year-old legacy of Khayal gayaaki, the Mishra brothers are famous for their fine renditions and the manner in which they caress the notes and their artistry with ‘aaroh‘ and ‘avroh‘.
The duo began the evening with a bandish in raag Puria, ‘thode thode din ki nawal dulhaniya’ in vilambit ek taal. They moved to madhya lay teen taal with ‘main toh kar aaiyi piya sang rangraliyan’ and ended with ‘piya sang laagi lagan’ in drut ek taal.
Puria is essentially a masculine raag and the brothers did full justice to it this evening. Mesmerizing the audience with their techniques in application of high and low notes, their mastery over the alaap and the perfect tuning between them.
The one hour rendition of the raaga was at a leisurely pace as the artists knew that they had the stage for themselves this evening.
The second presentation was dedicated to the goddess and was in raag Durga -- ‘Jai Jai Durgey Maata Bhavani’. The brothers began second half of the evening, “with requests to sing at least a dozen raags,” as they informed, and added that they would incorporate as many as possible. Keeping with the mood they began the second half with raag Jinjhoti which is sung in the second stage of evening.
“Their synchronization and delivery is perfect. Both are supportive of each other and neither tries to dominate the other,” felt Nisha Kulkarni, a classical musician and city convener of SPICKMACAY. “They have caught the mood of the raga and have held on to it till the end giving the audience the taste of a virtuoso performance,” she added.
The day two of the festival will host Dr Prabha Atre the doyenne of Hindustani Classical music at the Deshpande hall at 6.30pm. Entry to the presentation is free.