Patiala (Punjab), December 20:
Avid music lovers, drawn from distant corners of the City, continued to throng in great numbers and be a part of the ongoing 4-day Patiala Music Festival and have a dip in the sea of music of the soul. The prevailing chill failed to dampen the soaring spirits of the diehard fans.
For the unversed, the four-day mosaic of classical music was started off by the North Zone Culture Centre (NZCC), Patiala, last year, with the sole objective of carrying forward the rich musical legacy of the Patiala Gharana bequeathed to us by the founding fathers of traditional classical singing. The annual event saw some of the top-rung music maestros of the country performing live during the festival.
The evening soaked in pure bliss metamorphosed into a Mecca of soulful music for those present as acclaimed vocalist and playback singer, Ronkini Gupta, doling out her immaculate compositions, one after the other.She set the tone ringing with Raag Bihaag Vilambit Ektaal “Kaise sukh soyein…”, Drut khayal “Panghatva roke saanwra shyam…” Jog Madhya lay “Mora Jhanjharva…”, Rupak “Naveli Naar…” Drut Ektaal, both original bandishes, followed by Jhinjhoti “Saanwre Salone se laage more Nain…” Teentaal. She went on to belt out taraana in raag Yaman – traditional and then original bandish “tadare daani deem…”, which evoked a huge round of applause from the appreciative audience.
It was now time for Pandit Uday Kumar Mullick, an accomplished Dhrupad vocalist from the Darbhanga gharana to hop on to the centre stage and showcase his craft. He started his rendition with an alaap (charon darza ka), followed by raag Abhogi Kahnra (taal dhamaar 14 beats) “Lal ab bhayo hai, nipat khelad…”, ending up with Raag Adana (Sool taal 10 beats) “Raat munn jagat janani ko…” Accompanying him on stage will be Mahima Upadhyay (On Pakhawaj) and. Subhan Ali (On Sarangi)
The festival will culminate on December 22 with the scintillating sitar recital by Anupama Bhagwat, a consummated sitar virtuoso, who will take the centre stage at 10.30 in the morning.
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