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Indian Classical Music Night features
both Carnatic and Hindustani vocalists By Amitava Sen The Hindu Temple of Atlanta organized an Indian classical music night in the HTA auditorium on August 20, 2011 featuring two well-known artists from Atlanta in the Carnatic and Hindustani music genres. The first half, a Carnatic vocal concert, was by Smt. Sujatha Rayburn, who has performed both Carnatic and Hindustani music in India and the US. She chose ragas that were familiar to both Carnatic and Hindustani music listeners, and most of her songs were in the Adi tala (similar to Teental). Starting with a varnam in raga Valaji (Kalavati in Hindustani), she next presented a kriti on Ganesha in raga Mohana Kalyani (Shuddh Kalyan). This was followed by a Thyagaraja kriti in raga Naatai (similar notes to Hindustani Jog), and the popular Thyagaraja kriti “Ada Modi Galade” in raga Charukesi. The main piece was raga Hemavati, in which she sang the popular Dikshitar kriti “Sri Kantimatim.” She ended with the Annamacharya kriti “Bhavayami Gopala Balam” in Yamuna Kalyani, popularized by MS Subbalakshmi. Sujatha was accompanied on violin by Ramesh Panchagnula and on mridangam by Kothandara Suresh, both well-known artists who have performed in numerous Carnatic music concerts in Atlanta.  The second half of the concert was Hindustani vocal by Shri Pritam Bhattacharjee, disciple of Pandit Jasraj, accompanied on tabla by Shri Prithwiraj Bhattacharjee, disciple of Ustads Allah Rakha and Zakir Hussain. Pritam and Prithwiraj are faculty of the Pt. Jasraj School of Music in Atlanta. Pritam started with the evening raga Puriya Kalyan, in which he sang an extensive vilambit or slow composition, called a bada khayal, followed by a drut or fast tempo bandish. The bada khayal is a distinct feature of Hindustani music, not present in Carnatic music, in which the artist can slowly develop and present all the subtle nuances of a raga and showcase his skill in improvising and bringing out the mood of the raga in a leisurely and unhurried pace, yet set to a specific rhythm. The audience, mostly Carnatic music listeners, were given the experience of delving deep into a raga for an extended period of time, and burst out into applause several times when Pritam and Prithwiraj, after their improvisatory passages, returned to the sam, or the first beat of the rhythm cycle. After this main presentation, the audience requested Pritam to sing some specific ragas. He presented a tarana in raga Malkauns (Hindolam) and then a medium tempo composition in raga Bageshri. Pritam ended the concert with a bhajan in raga Bhairavi. He was accompanied by his students, Gauri Mhaskar on the tanpura and vocals, and Amitava Sen on the harmonium. |