Strings for Peace
Music is a meta- thought that transcends the borders of consciousness. It is somewhat similar to a child's innocence, having the capacity to retreat just anyone in the world of absolute joy and beauty. The art form today held a beauty of its own as one could see the wonderful amalgamation of swar and leya. It was time for some pure music for the city denizens, full of extraordinary brilliance and spiritual magnitude. Never before has one seen such perfect partnership in resonance as was witnessed this evening.
In command was none other then the legendry sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan whose culmination as an artiste seemed at its acme today. Heralded in the concert by his two sons Amaan Ali Khan and Ayaan Ali Khan, the seventh generation of Senia Bangash Gharana, the Ustad without doubt ruled the show embellishing it with his stupendous expertise in the instrument. As he began the evening with the very familiar Vaishnav Jan to the Ustad transformed the space into a sanctified sanctuary exhilarating the rapt hearts of the packed house with soulful ecstasy. He then went on to play 'Raghupati raghav raja ram' and made the audience dive into the Bihu tunes from Assam from where his wife Subhalaxmi comes from. The evening tunes according to the maestro are endowed with special notes to bring you closer to God and all that is pure, as you pray at the sunset. As if in a contemplative reverie, and with a masterful touch, the maestro let his fingers orchestrate the strings to sing, construe and embellish the classical ragas and familiar prayer songs.
It was Ustad Amjad Ali Khan's supremacy of vocal expression through the instrument that kept the audience enraptured throughout his solo session. "Swar hi ishwar hai. Language creates barriers. There is no need to understand the symphony, you just need to feel the music." Said Khan sahib. As if the beauty of the Bihu was less, Rabindra Sangeet further enriched the surroundings forcing all profanity into oblivion.
Before this, Amaan and Ayaan showed their bravura skills on Sarod with raag Raageshri. Listening to their music was also quite an ordeal as they surpassed the test of artistic creativity incredibly. They exhibited quite a lot of authority, exuberant energy and striking stage presence.
The concert's delight also laid in the fact that every instrument occupied a temperament on stage. Abetted by the maestro in presence, as the affair between men and music reached its summit, each instrumentalist brought out his best skill to present the raga in a handsome way. The young masters indulged in playful combats with their father, so did the superbly gifted Tabla players Mithilesh Jha and Sandip Das.
The final moments of the concert were impromptu encore as ripples of sound originated from the reunion of three sarods in a glittering parade of reverberation. Together they sparkled, formed melodic fireworks, and enchanting crescendos charming the listeners into unadulterated emotional heights in turn giving a measure of their tremendous talent.
The finale was made perfect by raag Khamaaj with a combination of alaap, bandish, jod and jhala that created a unique disposition in the air leading the concert to perfection. The invigoration, sensual pleasure and the spiritual brilliance that the concert had will be long remembered for its sweetness.
The recital was thus not all about rigorous classical music but playful extemporization of the symphony, in turn winging it to greater heights. Strings for Peace ruled the day
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Well im not following my passion currently- journalism....but this is how i would have reviewed the show....it was just fantastic.......not because of any 'other' reasons but the fact that i thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it.
