MUMBAI: No microphones! No amplification! Experience it! In today’s age of digitization and technology, completely unamplified performances are almost unheard for both the artistes and the audiences alike. Realizing the potential of this opportunity Pancham Nishad and Prithvi Theatre both active in promoting and developing performing arts, came together. A monthly concert series of morning ragas ‘Udayswar@Prithvi’ is designed to bring music enthusiasts a truly unique, acoustic experience of Indian Classical Music in the manner it was originally designed, for an intimate Baithak.The event is taking place on 17 September at 7.30 am at Prithvi Theatre. No microphones! No amplification! Experience it!
Held on every third Sunday of the month ‘Udayswar@Prithvi’ is the perfect combination of Prithvi Theatre’s intimacy and excellent acoustics, Pancham Nishad’s expertise in Indian Classical Music Concerts and the extraordinary renditions by artistes such as Devaki Pandit, Budhaditya Mukherjee, Prasad Khaparde, Sangeeta Shankar, Manjusha Patil, Mohi Baha’ud-din Dagar, Raghunandan Panshikar, Rupak Kulkarni, Shuchismita Das, Milind & Yadnesh Raikar, Jayateerth Mevundi, Tejashree Amonkar, Satish Vyas, Ulhas Kashalkar, Shakir Khan, Rahul Deshpande, Rakesh Chaurasia, Shubha Mudgal, Sabir khan ,Rashid Khan, Brij Narayan and Arati Ankalikar Tikekar.
From the last quarter of the 20th century, instrumental music, especially the sitar, has been at the centre-stage of Hindustani music at home and abroad. Although inspired by vocal music, the sitar repertoire is unique; veering heavily towards instrumental techniques. An eminent sitar player Manju Mehta is one of India’s most renowned female sitarists. A senior disciple of Pandit Ravi Shankar, and hailing from a very well-known family of musicians in Jaipur, she combines beauty, creativity and tradition to bring out the ‘Rasa’ colors of Indian Classical music.
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She took up the sitar at the age of thirteen due to the influence of her elder brother and first guru Shashi Mohan Bhatt. Mehta’s distinct style combines the tantrakari with the gayaki ang. The quality of her tone, the ability to be different within traditional confines, and her inherent musicality all combine to make her a unique performer.
“It would be a unique experience to perform at Prithvi theatre in the baithak style arrangement which, I think is the best way to listen to Indian Classical music. Due to the physical proximity between the artist and the audience coupled with informal creative environment some of the most beautiful and sublime moments in music have come out at such relatively small and intimate gatherings. An artiste performs in a relaxed atmosphere and the audience responds spontaneously to music and this bridge the distance that a stage puts between the performer and the audience. It is also quite challenging for an artiste to perform without microphones and the real test lies in the artiste’s ability to communicate powerfully and sustain the audience interest throughout the performance” says Total Acoustics Sitar performer Veteran Vistuoso Manju Mehta.
