Amrit Yatra, a rare musical show, was an ensemble of ancient Indian instruments

A musical slice of a bygone era

The 10th Ritachhanda Festival, held recently in Kolkata, provided the audience an opportunity to witness Amrit Yatra under the direction of Kalamandalam Piyal Bhattacharya, a Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee.

Piyal, who trained in Kathakali at Kerala Kalamandalam, is a renowned Natyasastra research-scholar. He has been working to recreate the dance practices of the Natyasastra and the music tradition of that period.

The Amrit Yatra, a unique presentation, was an ensemble displaying antediluvian instruments. It was a fascinating journey through the corridors of time.

Talking about his study of ancient Indian instruments, Piyal said, “The essence of rasa-nishpatti, the attainment of aesthetic experience, in our music is facilitated through the intricate melodies produced by the one-string tube zither, also known as Ghosha Veena. Albeit non-existent now, its presence is immortalised in the Bengal sculptures of Saraswati, riding a mesha (male sheep), and symbolising its significance as the origin of all string instruments. Later, another Ekatantri (one string) veena was invented. It was known as Alapini or Alavu. I found that it is played by Lalu Shankar Mahali belonging to a tribe in Jharkhand. He calls it Tuhila. Chhannulal Singh of Orissa also plays it and refers to it by a different name. I sent my student Sayak Mitra to learn its playing technique from them.”

Sayak led the ensemble. Apart from his melodious singing, he also played different kinds of veena. He shared that Lalu Shankar Mahali tunes the tuhila to natural sounds while Chhannulal plays each swar with gamaks.

At the show, Sayak also introduced Shubhendu, who played Mattakokila veena, a beautiful 21-string Indian harp. The foundational jaati-s (specific combination of notes) were played on this. Though not found in India now, it is the national instrument of Myanmar. “Piyal da took Shubhendu to U Win Maung, an expert in the instrument and who trained both of them,” said Sayak.