By Shamoni Mulay
Photo Credit: Shreerang Sunkersett

"Music is well said to be the speech of angels; nothing among the utterances allowed to man is felt to be so divine. It brings us near to the infinite" says Thomas Carlyle. On 25th April Atlanta music lovers experienced such divinity thanks to the efforts of ICMS and Prayas who put together a Unique Indian Classical Music Concert. Atlanta welcomed Pt Rupak Kulkarni on Flute, Shri Akhilesh Gundecha on Pakhawaj and Shri Hindole Majumdar on Tabla for a concert of a lifetime. This unique ensemble brought together an innovative and harmonious combination of instruments which was a treat for both the visual and auditory senses.
Pt Rupak Kulkarni is a flute maestro, initially trained under his father late Pt. Malhar Rao Kulkarni later under the tutelage of Padma Vibhushan Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia has blossomed into an outstanding exponent of Maihar Gharana. Since his solo flute performance at the age of 11 at Darbar Hall, Pt Rupak ji has performed in almost all prestigious music conferences in India and all over the world. His recital is always a rare treat combining Dhrupad and Khayal Gayaki, with melodious aalaps and scintillating Tatkars, enthralling Layakari and superb breath control. Shri Akhilesh Gundecha is widely recognized as among the best pakhawaj players in India. Trained under Pandit Shrikant Mishra and Raja Chhatrapati Singh JuDeo Shri Akhilesh ji has accompanied many Dhrupad Maestros and has performed numerous solo recitals in India and across the globe. Shri Hindole Majumdar is also a well-known tabla player, who accompanies several highly regarded vocal and instrumental artists in India and abroad, and has many solo performance recordings to his credit as well.

This concert was unique for several reasons, primarily due to rare combination of the deeper toned pakhawaj and a playful toned Tabla with the soft toned flute. The concert was divided in two halves and as the concert began at an evening hour the trio appropriately chose raag ‘shyam kalyan’ for the first half. Through the first half Pt. Rupak ji held the audience awe-struck as his flute whispered magical tunes taking everyone through the journey of Dhrupad and Khyal. He fluidly moved acorss different flutes to achieve both the lower octave and higher octave sounds. The pakhawaj and tabla accompanied the flute beautifully. It was mesmerizing to see the conversation tones between the instruments. The playful conversation between younger lovers, the flute and the tabla was as spectacular as the gentle expression of love between the mature flute and the pakhawaj. Then the reverberating sound of pakhawaj solo left the audience with thumping heartbeats and the tabla solo pumped up the adrenalin. A discussion between the tabla and the pakhawaj followed in the form of ‘sawal-jawab’ where both the percussionist responded beautifully to each other’s melodic phrases. Although both the tabla and pakhawaj follow different bol and playing techniques, the talent and experience of the artists had the two instruments merge resonances with finesse. The flute during this time took a subdued stance becoming the soft accompaniment for the intense pakhawaj and the robust tabla.
After the first half of the concert the artists encouraged a conversation with the audience. It was during this conversation that Pt Rupak ji introduced the audience to his invention, the ‘Adhbudh bansuri’. This ‘wonder flute’ is his modification from the regular flute, which is longer in length but maintains the distance of the hose for the fingers. This makes it easier to play a wider or complete octave on the same flute rather than changing flutes to go one octave lower or higher as is traditionally done. During this discussion several questions were also answered. Some were curious to know how Pt Rupak ji modifies his tune in a single breath, some wanted to understand the importance of wheat flour stuck on the pakhawaj to allow sound resonance. An audience member with a lifelong dream was to touch the tabla was also invited onto the stage by Shri Hindole ji to fulfil it!

The second half of the concert was another exclusive indulgence when Pt. Kulkarni decided on playing the meditative raag Hansadhwani originating from the Carnatic music. This allowed the audience to experience the amalgamation of Carnatic and Hindustani music and then an incredible ‘jugalbandi’ between all the three instruments. The concert ended with a present soothing and euphonious scales of raag Shivaranjani during with Pt. Rupak ji also indulged in played a small ‘maand’. ‘Maand’ is the famous style of singing in Rajasthan and is well recognized in classical circles and this style is very important in folk-songs of Rajasthan. As the concert came to an end the hypnotized audience stood applauding the genius of these three wonderful musicians, appreciative of how all the gopis and other life forms stood transfixed when lord Krishna played his bansuri.
Though our conversation with the artistes we were delighted to hear that all these artists are not just excellent performers but also wonderful teachers and have made it their aim to bring up newer talent and encourage youngsters to learn music. Shri Akhilesh ji has several students learning under him at the Dhrupad Institute, two of them being women and both proficient in the field. Shri Hindole ji also has several students in his institute in Canada and Milwaukee and is happy to spend time teaching when not performing himself. Pt. Rupak ji also advises the elders to take the responsibility to educate the youngsters about Indian classical music to make them aware of the rich heritage we have. Indian classical music can increase concentration and provide meditative effect, but it is only over time of listening to the music will one understand, enjoy and derive benefit of Indian classical music.

This concert was truly unique as the name suggested and this unique concept became a reality thanks to the efforts of ICMS (Indian   Classical   Music   Society) a NPO, dedicated to appreciation and promotion of Indian Classical Music (Hindustani style) and Prayas also a NPO committed to promote and support educational and developmental efforts in India. The volunteers at ICSM and Prayas both work hard to bring great musical talent to Atlanta and truly deserve and applause for their dedication towards promoting Indian classical music while staying true to their individual causes.
Dayananda Saraswati said, “Though music transcends language, culture and time, and though notes are the same, Indian music is unique because it is evolved, sophisticated and melodies are defined.” We should consider it our responsibility to preserve, honor and promote such unique music.