Rashid Khan proves his mastery over khayal

The ‘Teen Prahar’ festival in Bengaluru showcased a fantastic mix of young and established artistes

The ‘Teen Prahar’ music festival, organised by the Mumbai-based Banyan Tree Events, was back in Bengaluru after a long hiatus. Held in Chowdaiah Memorial Hall, it showcased Carnatic and Hindustani exponents and featured twilight and night melodies (sandhiprakash and nishakaleen) from the teen prahars (three quads) of the raagdari Hindustani music tradition.

The five-hour festival began with ‘Young Blossoms’ featuring artistes of promise. Percussionist Roshan Kolatkar skilfully delineated the diverse aspects of Teental (rhythmic cycle of 16 beats). His lucid execution of the kaidas and his energetic tihais bore the unmistakable stamp of his guru, Pt. Suresh Talwalkar. He was accompanied on the harmonium by the talented Sriraksha, whose mellowed saath was a perfect foil to the vibrant tabla solo.

Another young prodigy, Sana Manoj, endeared herself to the audience with her rendition of the famous Tyagaraja composition, ‘Shobillu saptaswara’ in raga Jaganmohini (Rupaka). The disciple of Kalavathi Avadhoot, Sana stole the hearts of the listeners with her earnest attempt to capture the salient aspects of manodharma sangeetam through her evocative alapana and impressive rendition of the composition, ‘Mi valla gunadosha’ in Kapi (Khandachapu).

Her improvisations, marked by neraval and kalpana swaras, and her commendable sense of involvement with the music made it amply clear that the little girl can blossom into a promising artiste. Pranavi’s melodic violin accompaniment and young Sudhanva’s lively support on the mridangam enhanced the concert.

Rahul Sharma, son and disciple of Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma, began his santoor recital with Bhoopali, that hails from Kalyan thaat and is a audav jati raag with five notes. He was accompanied by the pakhawaj virtuoso Pt. Bhawani Shankar and was supported on the tabla by Pt. Ram Kumar Mishra.

His alap-jod-jhala was a nice blend of rhythm and melody. In the jhala in Bhoopali that he performed with Bhawani Shankar, the intricate aspects of the ‘tantrakari ang’ fused with the sounds of the pakhawaj, highlighting the attractive features of the ‘dhrupad ang’.

In the gat, Rahul presented a composition in Mat taal (nine beats), followed by a sparkling Drut Teen taal composition in a faster tempo. He concluded the concert with a lilting Mishr Pahadi composition set to a brisk Dadra (six beats).