The emerging performance platforms for young artistes

Raza Foundation's Arambh and IIC's 'Double Bill' showcase young talent in Hindustani music, providing a platform for emerging artistes

In recent times, there has been a surge in young talent, but not all of them are able to make it to the performance stage despite rigorous training. It is here that initiatives such as Raza Foundation’s Arambh and IIC’s (India International Centre) ‘Double Bill’ play a pivotal role.

While the 2025 edition of ‘Arambh’, held at the Amaltas Theatre of India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, featured vocalist Rujuta Lad, ‘Double Bill’ showcased Hindustani vocalist Dhanashri Ghaisas and Aditya Shanker and troupe (instrumental fusion music).

Rujuta initially trained under Dhondhu Tai Kulkarni, and further refined her skills under Ashwini Bhide Deshpande, an exponent of the Jaipur Atrauli gharana.

Accompanied on the harmonium by Vinay Mishra and on the tabla by Saptak Sharma, Rujuta opened her concert with raag Nand. The traditional bada khayal ‘Dhundhu bare sainyan…’ was rendered in vilambit Teentaal as per the convention of her gharana. She delineated the piece in a leisurely manner, going through systematic alap, bol alap, barhat and varied taan patterns, before progressing through the chhota khayal ‘Aa ja re balauva’, composed by Kishori Amonkar in a medium tempo of Teentaal.

She next chose to render ‘Nayaki kanhada’ is a staple of the Jaipur Atrauli gharana. The famous bandish ‘Mero piya rasiya’ was dealt with aplomb in Madhya-Vilambit Rupak taal. The other bandish ‘Nikli albeli rangili naar’, composed by Ashwini Bhide, was adorned with quicksilver taans to suit the bandish. Rujuta also wanted to sing a Hori but concluded with a Bhairavi bhajan due to paucity of time.

Dhanashri, who performed at the Double Bill series, also trained under Ashwini Bhide Deshpande. Showing her grasp over the characteristic features of her guru’s gharana, Dhanashri opened with raag Yaman, but the use of the Shuddha Madhyam sometimes made it sound like Yaman-Kalyan. After an alluring alap, Dhanashri presented a traditional bada khayal ‘Mo mann lagan lagi’ set in Vilambit (slow) Teentaal. She elaborated the raag gradually, focussing on its melodic points. The bandish featured taan patterns unique to the gharana. The tarana set to Drut Ek-taal, composed by her guru, came as part of the main raag.

Dhanashri next presented raag Basant, which brought about a change in mood. She sang the bandish ‘Aai ruta Basant’, adorning it with a variety of taans. Dhanashri concluded with a Hori ‘Main toh khelungi unahin se hori guniyaan’, composed by Bindadin Maharaj. The harmonium accompaniment by Kshitij Singh and the concluding laggi on the tabla by Vinod Lele enhanced the appeal of her concert.