Instrumentalists dominate stage on Day 2 of music fest

NAGPUR: The second day of the ongoing Vasantrao Deshpande music festival began with a santoor recital by another international artist Taka Hiro from Japan. This disciple of the maestro Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma turned out to be the show stealer as he received a standing ovation from the Sunday crowd that packed the auditorium. Picking up the easy on the ear ‘raag Yaman’, Taka Hiro started off with an ‘alaap’ in ‘vilambit’, ‘taal Rupak’ and then a ‘Drut’ in ‘teen taal’.His effortless matching of his notes with the tabla beats received repeated applause. Moving his palm across the fret board of santoor, a technique so unique to his guru and ably mastered by him in a short span of 10 years, Taka Hiro wowed the audience with his virtuosity and left them thirsting for more.
The young musician’s presentation was followed by that of flute maestro Pt Hari Prasad Chaurasia. Clad in a turmeric kurta with a pearl string around his neck, the flautist looked all of his 78 years though his music remained timeless. Selecting ‘raag Bhopali’, which he “loved to play in his younger days”, he started off with an ‘alaap’, then presented the ‘jod’ to the accompaniment of the Pakhawaj with accomplished percussionist Pt Bhawani Shankar.
For the ‘jhala’ on ‘nau matra’ and ‘teen taal’, the flautist had the renowned tabla player Vijay Ghate matching his notes in a series of teasers when Ghate tried to match with the skills of the elder musician. The ‘sawal jawab’ session between the two had the ease of familiarity and left the audience gasping at the sheer power of their music.
Also present on stage with Pt Hari Prasad Chaurasia was his disciple Debopriya Chatterjee Ranadive. He concluded his recital with ‘raag Pahadi’ on popular demand and had the audience stand up to applaud as he waited for curtains to be drawn.
The third and final performance was by the dancers of Shama Bhate’s troupe Naad Roop. They presented a composition ‘Vasant Nritya’ in ‘raag Patmanjari’ set to the bandish of Vasantrao Deshpande in five raagas — Maru Vihag, Rajeshwari, Nand, Kedar and Shankara. Shama Bhate, famous for her ‘tayaari’ and ‘abhinay’, had her disciples lighting up the stage with a graceful and sombre presentation which began with a chant of ‘Sarva Mangal Mangalay’ sung in a rich voice by Vinay Ramadasan.
Monday, the third day of the five-day festival, will have a solo tabla performance by Tarun Roshan Lala and the presentation of Sangeet Preeti Sangam, a musical drama by Mumbai Marathi Sahitya Sangh.