(Almost) Live from Sawai Gandharva Sangeet Mahotsav 2008
Abhinav....@gmail.com
For first hand report of Sawai check out http://indianclassicalmusicandbansuri.blogspot.com/
Regards,
Abhinav
Vivek Datar
-Vivek
<Abhinav....@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:9a9198e1-68a9-4148...@x16g2000prn.googlegroups.com...
Abhinav....@gmail.com
> Thanks. Well written, please keep it up for all sessions.
>
> -Vivek
>
>
> news:9a9198e1-68a9-4148...@x16g2000prn.googlegroups.com...
>
> > Greetings!
>
> > For first hand report of Sawai check out
> >http://indianclassicalmusicandbansuri.blogspot.com/
>
> > Regards,
> > Abhinav
Just posted the day-2 review: http://indianclassicalmusicandbansuri.blogspot.com/
Enjoy!
Abhinav
Town Crier
bansuriwala are doing a great job of reporting on Sawai as it happens.
Here is something to read between their bulletins
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/at-74-three-childhood-buddies-recall-growing-up-with-the-sawai/398285/
DG
Abhinav....@gmail.com
> "Abhinav.Jawade...@gmail.com" <Abhinav.Jawade...@gmail.com> and
> bansuriwala are doing a great job of reporting on Sawai as it happens.
>
>
> DG
Thanks for the good words. I have also added reviews of day 3 and day
4 at http://indianclassicalmusicandbansuri.blogspot.com/
I am sorry for the delay in posting but with the packed schedule this
was the best I could manage.
BTW, I sat just next to the grandfatherly figures who are featured in
the Indian Express article mentioned by DG and enjoyed their company.
Regards,
Abhinav aka Bansuriwala
Town Crier
Bansuriwala. I should have guessed.
Now that the Mahotsav is over, perhaps the discussion can turn to the
content of your reviews, Abhinav. Starting backwards - you have an
interesting gastronomical analogy for the lack of antaras in Prabha
Atre's singing. She is actually on record claiming in essence that
the tar saptak is just a "repetition" of what was already sung in
madhya saptak, and the sole purpose of an antara is to take you to tar
saptak, ergo it is superfluous. (My wording and my imperfect memory -
flak welcome.)
The cynic in me further recalls that she made that claim for the
firsttime at about the time she lost her tar shadja, which should be
roughly between 1977 and 1982 (read menopause). Can anybody verify/
refute that? Am I right about the common timing of the two events?
http://www.circumstitions.com/Fox.html
DG
Abhay
<Abhinav.Jawade...@gmail.com> wrote:
(snip)
> I have also added reviews of day 3 and day
>
> I am sorry for the delay in posting but with the packed schedule this
> was the best I could manage.
Thanks for the blog posts, Abhinav. I attended almost all the
performances, but could read on your blog about the ones I missed too.
From my point of view, Aruna Sairam walked off with top honours this
year - indeed, it would have been fitting if her marvellous 'thillana'
had concluded the festival! Although Prabha Atre sang well compared to
her own recent form, she sounded quite insipid after Aruna Sairam's
soul-stirring performance (and that is not hyperbole - you had to be
there to experience it. Just think of it: a Poona audience, dyed-in-
the-wool Hindustani afficionados, gives a Carnatic singer *two*
encores?!). I didn't see the problem with the laya for the abhang and
the Kannada bhajan - she rendered them in her own manner instead of
just aping BJ's rendition (more on that below). Vinayak Torvi and
Malini Rajurkar were excellent, too. None of the other performance
came up to the standard of these three.
I was intrigued by your comments about PA and the taar saptak, because
my sister made the same observation as we were leaving the venue! The
starting strains of the Bhairavi dadra gave some clue as to her
reluctance to venture near the taar saptak: the slightly higher key
for the dadra (as compared to her khayal-s) was putting an obvious
strain on her voice.
I have different opinions about some of your reports, but then where
would we be if we all felt the same way about everything? I found
Wadikar's performance below par; specifically, his attempts to
replicate Bhimsen Joshi's heavy taans fell flat as his voice couldn't
handle them. He is a textbook case for why one should not blindly
emulate one's gurus; the modification of the guru's style to suit
one's own voice is very necessary, and a good guru ensures that this
happens. Unfortunately, with very few exceptions, BJ's direct and once-
removed disciples all imitate him blindly, usually with disastrous
results.
One of those disasters was unfortunately accorded a prime slot in the
last session, presumably because he is BJ's son. Mercifully, I heard
only the last half of his vain attempt to sing a thumri. The man goes
off key so often it's a wonder the harmonium player can find the notes
he hears! His swar-lagaav is puzzling: he seems to think that making
BJ-like faces will produce BJ-like sound. The abhang was redeemed by
the beauty of the compostion, but SJ's singing made it a humdrum
affair. It was sad to hear Bhimsen referring to this performance as
'uttam'.
While on BJ: I was quite put off (as were many others I spoke to) by
the stunt the organisers pulled on the third day when they had his car
come right up to the stage - plumb in the middle of Madhup Mudgal's
concluding bhajan! While the bhajan was on, we suddenly heard
unrelated applause from one corner of the pandal, and the cameras
(that were showing the concert on four screens at the side) pulled
away from the stage to follow the slow progress of a car from the side
entrance right up to the foot of the stage. The paparazzi stampeded
toward the car and others in the pandal started clapping as the
cameras zeroed in on BJ sitting on the front passenger seat (the poor
man looked quite exhausted - drained would be a better term; I wonder
whose idea it was to put him on display in this manner).
And all this time, Madhup Mudgal valiantly carried on with his bhajan!
He was, of course, distracted by the tamasha taking place on his left:
at one point, when the ubiquitous (and sometimes irritatingly oily)
compere stood up at his podium as if ready to announce The Coming,
Mudgal actually stopped singing for a short while, waiting for the
compere to decide what he was doing; when he sat back without saying
anything, Mudgal just resumed where he had left off. He wound up very
shortly after this and was gracious enough to walk down to pay his
respects to the Bharat Ratna who had ungraciously - indeed, rudely -
interrupted his performance.
Could this not have been done differently? Could the car not have
waited outside till there was a break in the performance? Granted that
BJ is a great singer, a legend in his lifetime, a newly minted Bharat
Ratna, etc etc etc, but does that give the organisers the right - with
or without BJ's knowledge - to show such disrespect for the artiste
who is performing on stage?
Warm regards,
Abhay
Abhinav....@gmail.com
(snip)
>
> Thanks for the blog posts, Abhinav.
It has been a pleasure. I had been thinking of doing this since many
years, finally managed it this year.
> From my point of view, Aruna Sairam walked off with top honours this
> year - indeed, it would have been fitting if her marvellous 'thillana'
> had concluded the festival! Although Prabha Atre sang well compared to
> her own recent form, she sounded quite insipid after Aruna Sairam's
> soul-stirring performance (and that is not hyperbole - you had to be
> there to experience it. Just think of it: a Poona audience, dyed-in-
> the-wool Hindustani afficionados, gives a Carnatic singer *two*
> encores?!).
I agree with you that Aruna Sairam's performance was superb and was
certainly superior to Prabha Atre's.
> I didn't see the problem with the laya for the abhang and
> the Kannada bhajan - she rendered them in her own manner instead of
> just aping BJ's rendition (more on that below).
I have applauded Aruna Sairam's adoption in the blog. I am absolutely
not looking for a blind copy, but I maintain that the songs would have
sounded even better in faster laya. In fact this was discussed in my
neighborhood at Sawai having some very knowledgeable folks - many felt
this way.
> Vinayak Torvi and
> Malini Rajurkar were excellent, too.
No disagreement.
> None of the other performance
> came up to the standard of these three.
>
I also liked many other performances.
>
> I have different opinions about some of your reports, but then where
> would we be if we all felt the same way about everything?
I appreciate and agree with your sentiments.
(snip)
I mostly agree with rest of your post. Please note that while writing
the reviews, I have tried to stick to the musical aspects. Also I
switched to a "reporting" mode when I did not find something worth
reviewing. (Kathak dance by Mishra siblings being an exception - it
was a fantastic performance).
Regards,
Abhinav
Sanjiv Karmarkar
Many thanks for the blogs, Abhinav. Much appreciated. Very well
written, almost makes me feel a little less wistful about missing the
festival!
How old is Krishnendra Wadikar, BTW? I've never had the pleasure of
attending one of his concerts.
I've listened to Prasad Khaparde a few times; sometimes he is
excellent, sometimes rather average. As a mater of fact, he actually
reminds me a little of his guru Rashid Khan who - in my very humble
opinion - has not lived up to the promise of his younger years. I
pray that Prasad does not go the same way.
I consider Malini Rajurkar among the best in this field today, at par
with Kashalkar et al and vastly superior to many other commercially
successful artists.
Surprised to note that Pt. Jasraj spoke in Marathi. I for one did not
know that he spoke a little Marathi!
Sanjiv Karmarkar
Abhinav....@gmail.com
>
> Many thanks for the blogs, Abhinav. Much appreciated. Very well
> written, almost makes me feel a little less wistful about missing the
> festival!
>
is a great pleasure! Appreciation from music lovers such as you is
icing on the cake!
> How old is Krishnendra Wadikar, BTW? I've never had the pleasure of
> attending one of his concerts.
>
Krishnendra must be in his 20's. I also heard him for the first time.
(snip)
>
> I consider Malini Rajurkar among the best in this field today, at par
> with Kashalkar et al and vastly superior to many other commercially
> successful artists.
>
I agree with you wholeheartedly.
> Surprised to note that Pt. Jasraj spoke in Marathi. I for one did not
> know that he spoke a little Marathi!
>
Pt. Jasraj speaks Marathi quite well (though with an accent). He makes
a point to speak Marathi especially at concerts in Pune. I have also
heard him speak Marathi in some concerts in Mumbai. Being V.
Shantaram's son-in-law, I am sure there must be a lot of Marathi
spoken at his home, too.
Regards,
Abhinav
Abhik Majumdar
It seems that's not the only language he speaks. Thick accent, but
pretty creditable nevertheless:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liAABdX--24&feature=related
Abhik
Sanjiv Karmarkar
Amazing! And quite fluent too!
Was he ever part of the ITC SRA? If he was, that's would explain his
fluency in Bengali. Of course he could have just picked up both
Marathi and Bengali through osmosis from his audience.
Sanjiv Karmarkar
Nandu Kulkarni
Pt.Jasraj became almost emotional speaking about BJ's Bharat Ratna. He
said BJ's suurs were like the horizon (or something to that effect)
which every vocalist aspires to reach, and just when you think you are
there, he has moved even further away! I thought that was remarkable,
given his reported reaction to the earlier BR awards.
He also felicitated Chandrakant Kamat for his 75th birthday, and
actually said that he (Kamat) had "established" him (Pt.Jasraj) in
Pune. Again, remarkable.
I wonder if the earlier reports about his having abused people in the
audience (one of the earlier RMIC posts) were really true. At Sawai he
was a model of impeccable behaviour!
Nandu Kulkarni