MUMBAI: The annual concert held in honour of the late tabla maestro Pt. Chatur lal by Pandit Chaturlal Memorial Society presented well known names like Pt Suresh Talwalkar and his group (Tabla) and a Jugalbandi between Saxophone virtuoso Dr Kadri Gopalnath and Flautist Ronu Muzumdar on 15 November 15 2008 in Mumbai. The classical fiesta was presented with much aplomb by the late tabla wizard’s son Chiranjit Chaturlal and his wife Meeta.
Pandit Suresh Talwalkar and his group presented the curtain raiser starting with Lord Shiva’s Swar Taal Yatra (An odyssey into rythym). Panditji was accompanied by five tabla players – this included his disciples and son Satyajit Talwalkar (one of the most active tabla players in the classical and fusion music scene). Classical vocalist Shaunak Abhisheki enchanted the listeners by opening with an evening raga; this was followed by bolish set off by Panditji which gripped the audience for the next 15 minutes. The event also saw Kathak dancers performing side-by-side with the Talwalkar clan – giving the concert an extraordinary feel. Ace drummer Mukul Dongre was also seen accompanying the musicians, adding the western elements
The musicians embellished their performance with subtle and bold variations of beats – most of their meanderings had powerfully executed gamakas interspersed with intense tans by vocalist Shaunak Abhesheki. One did appreciate the gradual manner with which Pt. Suresh Talwalkar and his group reached the climax in the super-fast tempo. Besides the music, Panditji’s on stage antiques were most overwhelming.
The Saxophone & Flute – A rare combination
After the break, Pt Ronu Muzumdar and Dr Kadri Gopalnath took the stage and enthralled the listeners with their jugalbandi played over raag Rageshwari. The duo has performed on many occasions abroad, but this was their second time that they performed for the Mumbai audience. Both the musicians seemed relaxed, and as time passed, their improvisations became more and more appealing. Their first Jugalbandi was followed by an awe-inspiring jugalbandi between Mridamgam player Hari Kumar and Tabla player Sudhir Pandey – this was one of the highlights of the concert. The duo got a standing ovation after concluding the concert with the song ‘Raghu Pati Raghav’…
Even though the concert featured some of India’s most respected names performing, the empty seats indicated that the churn out was quite deplorable, indicating that most Mumbaikar’s would any day prefer to stick to the mall and movie going way of life – How does one describe this – maybe the city is preferring ‘classy-cull’ over classical!