Rallying call for purists and seekers

AHMEDABAD: The night chill had made the air as taut as tanpura strings. And it was past 12.30 am when Kaushiki Chakrabarty took the stage on Saptak Day 11, which began on Wednesday evening. As she tested the microphone with warm-up notes, rasikas began to loosen their mufflers and doff their woollen caps. Even at the late hour, people filled the venue like sargam (a constellation of swiftly rendered notes).
The full house testified to Chakrabarty’s appeal to purists as well as to listeners who need a star to lead them on their first explorations of the classical universe.She belongs to the Patiala-Kasur Gharana of which her father, Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty, is the titan. “Kaushiki is extremely talented, and gifted with an amazing stage presence,” Viraj Amar told TOI. Amar is the disciple of Banaras Gharana deities, Pandits Rajan and Sajan Mishra. And her own lustrous singing — inhering within Hindustani purity — and her persona have collaborated to produce unforgettable performances.
About Chakrabarty, Amar said: “She can capture her audience, which is a huge feat for a classical musician!” In the 2013 edition of Saptak, Chakrabarty had interpreted Bihag. That essay had the force of a typhoon which had come dressed in silk, and had agreed to show its power without destroying anything. This year, many rasikas were part of the audience that she had captured back then; and so when she announced that she would elaborate on Raga Jog, a lightning of expectation shot through the venue.
“Jog can create shringar as well as virah,” said Amar. Shringar denotes romance and Virah represents pining for the beloved. And rasikas knew they could expect a tantalizing account from Chakrabarty that would unleash the overlapping energy of both the sentiments.
Chakrabarty’s choice, too, needs to be lauded. Saptak rasikas love Jog. In 2011, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia had told rasikas they could make a raga request — a rare gesture of generosity that only Saptak can support. A halting voice placed its demand and Panditji said: “Accha theek hai, Raga Jog bajatey hain.”