58th Sawai: Smt. Prabha Atre (Vocal)

Main Artist: Smt. Prabha Atre (Vocal)
Sangatkar:
Tabla: Ramdas Palsule
Harmonium: Suyog Kundalkar
Swaramandal: Atindra Saravadikar
Tanpura and vocal support: Arti Thakur, Ashwini Modak

Prabhatai started her performance with raga Bihag (bada khyal in
vilambit Ektaal - aiso mana mohan, chhota khyal in madhyalaya Teentaal
- nandakumvar ki chhabi nyari, tarana in madhyalaya Ektaal).

Prabhaji concluded the performance with a bhairavi bhajan - jagat
janani bhavatarini mohini tu navadurga.

All the sangatkar provided good sangat. Especially both Arti Thakur
and Ashwini Modak provided excellent voice support.

This was the last performance of the 58th Sawai Gandharva Sangeet
Mahotsav. The Mahotsav concluded after the customery playing of Sawai
Gandharva's recording.

That's all folks!

- Bansuriwala

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58th Sawai: Deepak Maharaj and Mamata Maharaj (Kathak)

I decided to sit back, relax and enjoy this excellent performance. I
hope you will pardon me for not writing detailed notes.

- Bansuriwala

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58th Sawai: Smt. Padma Talwalkar (Vocal)

Main Artist: Smt. Padma Talwalkar (Vocal)
Sangatkar:
Tabla: Mayank Bedekar
Pakhawaj: Omkar Dalvi
Harmonium: Suyog Kundalkar
Tanpura: Sharvari Bhilwadkar, Ms. Garud

Padmatai started her performance with raga Nanda (bada khyal in
vilambit Teentaal - e bare sainya, chhota khyal in madhyala Teentaal -
dhan dhan bhaag nanda ko).

The ragavistar was systematic and leisurely. The aakari alap were full
throated and quickly created a very good atmosphere of raga Nand.
Typical Jaipur style taans were packed with a lot of power. The tivra
madhyam especially in the chhota khyal was lajawab. The fast taans
were crisp and well executed.

Padmatai continued her performance with raga Durga (bandish in
madhyalaya Jhaptaal - sakhi mori rumajhuma, madhyalaya Teentaal - mata
bhavani kaali). Durga was also sung very beautifully.

Padmatai concluded her performance with an abhang - govinda govinda
mana lagaliya chhand. What laya! Kya baat hai!

All sangatkar provided very good sangat.

Overall it was a fantastic performance.

- Bansuriwala

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58th Sawai: Shri Upendra Bhat (Vocal)

Main Artist: Shri Upendra Bhat (Vocal)
Sangatkar:
Tabla: Omkar Gulwadi
Harmonium: Avinash Dighe
Pakhawaj: Rajgopal Gosavi
Tanpura: Devavrat Bhatkhande, Nagakiran Naik

Upendraji started his performance with raga Puriya Kalyan (bada khyal
in vilambit Ektaal - aaj so ban, chhota khyal in madhyalaya Teentaal -
bahut din bite bite ajahu na aaye more shyam)

Upendraji's voice was in a great shape right from the start. The
swaralagav was energetic and full throated. I however felt that
vilambit Ektaal lay was a bit faster than the one typically employed
by the Kirana singers. The ragavistar was very systematic, well
planned and succeeded in captivating the audience very quickly. The
tar shadja was power packed and sung very well in eekar as well as
aakar. The laykari was done beautifully. Taans were powerful and
layadar.

Upendraji continued his performance with a lighter piece shyam na
abtak aaye in Mishra Khamaj.

Upendraji concluded his performance with an abhang indrayani kathi
devachi alandi lagali samadhi dnyaneshachi.

Omkar Gulwadi and Avinash Dighe provided excellent tabla and harmonium
sangat. Especially Omkar Gulwadi's laydaar vilmabit theka was superb.
The solo tabla pieces were also very well played.

Overall an excellent performance.

- Bansuriwala

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58th Sawai: Ustad Shakir Khan (Sitar)

Main Artist: Ustad Shakir Khan (Sitar)
Tabla: Ramdas Palsule
Tanpura: Prachi Apte

Shakirji started his performance with raga Yaman.

The alap were played elaborately and beautifully with many surel and
delicate meends. Jod and jhala were systematic, short and sweet. This
was followed by a very beautiful gat in madhyalaya Rupak. The mukhda
of the bandish was very subtle - I think starting half a matra after
the sam. The taans and laykaari was well planned and superbly played
to achieve a very beautiful effect. After this Shakirji played a
beautiful and sweet gat in madhyalaya Teentaal. This was followed by a
gat in drut Teentaal. This featured some very well executed fast
taans. Jhaala, though at a supersonic speed was surel and devoid of
noise.

Shakirji continued his performance with a dhun in raga Mishra Pilu in
Madhyalaya Teentaal.

Ramdas Palsule provided excellent tabla sangat. His solo pieces were
crisp, laydaar and complimented the suited mood very well.

Overall a lovely performance!

- Bansuriwala

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58th Sawai: Smt. Meena Fatarphekar (Vocal)

Main Artist: Smt. Meena Fatarphekar (Vocal)
Sangatkar:
Tabla: Hanumant Phadtare
Harmonium: Pramod Marathe

Meenatai started her performance with raga Madhuvanti (bada khyal in
Vilambit Ektaal - ye koyaliya aayee ruta basanta, chhta khyal
madhyalaya Teentaa - more kartar aayee)

The ragavistar was systematically done in typical Kirana style. Taans
were well planned. Meenaji's voice hower sounded a bit shaky.

Meenaji continued her performance with a thumri in Mishra Khamaj -
kahe satawo mohe shyam).

Hanumant Phadtare and Pramod Marathe provided good tabla and harmonium sangat.

- Bansuriwala

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58th Sawai: Pt. Rajan and Pt. Sajan Mishra (Vocal Jugalbandi)

Main Artists: Pt. Rajan and Pt. Sajan Mishra (Vocal jugalbandi)
Sangatkar:
Tabla: Arvindkumar Azad
Harmonium: Dr. Arvind Thatte
Tanpura: Dr. Mohan Darekar, Mayur Mahajan

The artists started their performance with raga Miya ki Todi (bada
khyal in Vilambit Ektaal - raj darabar mundarava baje, chhota khyal in
madhyalaya Teentaal - langar ka karu aaj na maro)

The alaps sung as part of ragavistar in the initial phases of the bada
khyal were sung in an unhurried manner and incorporated a lot of
singing in the mandra saptak including the kharaj (mandra shadja) and
created a very beautiful atmosphere of Todi. I especially enjoyed
their approach to Pancham. Good justice was also done to the tar
Shadja. There many dazzling taans. I however felt that Todi
performance was a bit stretched.

Miya ki Todi was followed by a Tarana in madhyalaya Ektaal in raga
Gujari Todi on a farmaish.

Mishra brothers continued their performance with a Bhairavi tappa -
sona yaar mile, They concluded the performance with bhajan in Bhairavi
- bhavani dayani.

Arvindkumar Azad and Dr. Arvind Thatte provided superb tabla and
harmonium sangat. Especially the theka played with soft touch by
Arvindkumar during the vilambit khyal was absolutely beautiful. I also
enjoyed the pieces played on harmonium by Dr, Thatte during the Tappa.

Overall a very good performance as is expected of Pt. Rajan and Pt.
Sajan Mishra.

- Bansuriwala

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58th Sawai: Debapriya Adhikari (Vocal) and Samanvay Sarkar (Sitar)

Main Artists: Debapriya Adhikari (Vocal) and Samanvay Sarkar (Sitar) -
Jugalbandi
Tabla: Ramdas Palsule
Tanpura: Samiksha Bhobe

The artists started with raga Desi (alap, jod, bandish in madhyalaya
Rupaktaal - mana tu dhir dharo, bandish in drut Teentaal - gunda gunda
la ri malaniya).

The alap were surel, leisurely and systematic. Jod featured
interesting meendwork involving kharaj (mandra shadja) progressing all
the way to tar Shadja. The bandish was a beautiful composition with
sam at tar Shadja. Taans were well thought, well rehersed and very
well coordinated. The drut bandish presentation featured well executed
fast taans.

The artists continued their performance with a tapa-khayal in raga
Bahar (Adha Teentaal gulashan mein bulbul chahaki). Tappa style taans
were well presented by both the artists.

Ramdas Palsule provided very good tabla sangat. His solo pieces were
crisply played and were consistent with the raga presentation.

Overall a very interesting and memorable performance.

- Bansuriwala

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58th Sawai: Shri Sameer Dubale (Vocal)

Main Artist: Shri Sameer Dubale (Vocal)
Sangatkar:
Tabla: Bharat Kamat
Harmonium: Chaitanya Kunte
Tanpura: Nilesh Pande, Nilesh Dhakaras

Sameerji started his performance with raga Bilaskhani Todi (bada khyal
in vilambit Jhoomra - dhana dhana bhag tero, chhota khyal in
madhyalaya Ektaal - mano mori baat banawari chhedo na ab, drut
Teentaal - jagadambika ambika)

The ragavistar was systematic and unhurried. The alap were well
thought and sung in full throated yet surel aakar. The tar shadja was
sung with a lot power. Sargam was sung with an interesting layakari.
Taans were energetic and very well executed. Chhota khyal bandish was
sung beautifully with a lot of attention to the lyrics. I found the
selection of bandishes to be very good - I think all of them by
Ramarang.

Sameerji continued his performance with raga Shuddh Dhaivat Bibhas
(bandish in madhyalaya Teentaal - he narahari narayan and drut Ektaal
- taroan ginat ginat mai to raina bisayi). The taans in this
performance were quite remarkable.

Sameerji concluded his performance with a bhajan - ek sur charachar chhyo.

Bharat Kamat and Chaitanya Kunte provided good tabla and haronium sangat.

Overall a very good performance that had been thoughtfully planned.

- Bansuriwala

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58th Sawai: Smt. Malini Rajurkar (Vocal)

Main Artist: Smt. Malini Rajurkar (Vocal)
Sangatkar:
Tabla: Bharat Kamat
Harmonium: Dr. Arvind Thatte

Malinitai started her performance with raga Kaushik Ranjani (bada
khyal in vilambit Ektaal - eri mayi piya parades gavan kina, chhota
khyal in madhyalaya Teentaal - barakha ritu baran hamari re)

I am great admirer of Malinitai's singing and her style of
performance. Today she started with a brief alap followed by the
heartbreaking sam on tar Shadja. And things only got better after
that. As always the ragavistar was desciplined and made up of
energetic alapi with each avartan building up like a wave at the
seashore and coming down with a big splash at the sam. The taans were
packed with power.

Malinitai continued with a tappa in Bhairavi - chandra jahanuwe dil
tujhe kari sanyahu salu mukhada. This tappa also had the sam on tar
shadja - sung to perfection by Malinitai. Malinitai concluded the
performance with sargam S d P d M P g M in drut Teentaal.

Dr. Arvind Thatte and Bharat Kamat provided excellent harmonium and
tabla sangat.

Overall it was yet another great performance by a great artist.

- Bansuriwala

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58th Sawai: Pt. Shivakumar Sharma (Santoor)

Main Artist: Pt. Shivakumar Sharma (Santoor)
Tabla: Vijay Ghate
Tanpura: Madan Oak

Panditji started his performance with raga Jhinjhoti (alap, jod
followed by gats in Rupak and Teentaal).

The alap and jod were brief (his shortest at Sawai thanks to sarkar -
to use Panditji's words) but played very delicately and sweetly to
truely signify the nature of raga Jhinjhoti.

The gats, including the jhala in drut Teentaal towards the end were
played with a tender hand and enhanced the lovely mood of Jhinjhoti.

Panditji concluded his performance with a Pahadi dhun in Dadara. What beauty!

Vijay Ghate provided excellent tabla sangat. His solo pieces
emphasized layakari and were consistent with the delicate nature of
the raga.

Over all it was a masterly performance! This beautiful and sublime
Jhinjhoti will stay in the mind for a long time.

- Bansuriwala

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58th Sawai: Shri Anand Bhate (Vocal)

Main Artist: Shri Anand Bhate (Vocal)
Sangatkar:
Tabla: Bharat Kamat
Harmonium: Suyog Kundalkar
Tanpura: Vinay Chitrav, Shri Badrayani

Anand started his performance with raga Marubihag (bada khyal in
vilambit Ektaal - rasiya aao na, chhota khyal in madhyalaya Teentaal -
tarapt raina dina).

Right from the beginnig Anand's voice was in great shape. Ragavistaar
was systematic, unhurried and did full justice to every note.
Swaralagav was powerful and full throated. Taans were well planned and
superbly executed. Obviously Anand's singing is highly influenced by
Bhimasenji's style but today I also felt some influence of Kesarbai's
Marubihag - especially the aakaar taans (or is it just me?). Some
dazzling long taans spanning three octaves were sung with a great
style and finesse during the chhota khyal.

Anand continued his performance with a dadra - jadu bhareli kaon
alabeli tore naina rasile.

Anand concluded his performance with a Kannada bhajan - saubhagyada
lakshmi baramma).

Bharat Kamat and Suyog Kundalkar provided excellent tabla and
harmonium sangat respectively. Especially the simple layadar Teentaal
theka Bharat Kamat played was lajawab.

Overall a superb performance!

- Bansuriwala

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58th Sawai: Pt. Chandrakant Limaye (Vocal)

Main Artist: Pt. Chandrakant Limaye (Vocal)
Sangatkar:
Tabla: Atulchandra Dadhe
Harmonium: Sudhanshu Gharpure

Chandrakantji started his performance with raga Bhimpalas (bada khyal
in vilambit Ektaal - piya mose kahe na bole, chhota khyal in
madhyalaya Teentaal - balama tara gaya).

Chandrakantji's voice sounded a bit tired. May be it is a problem with
me but most of the times I felt the komal nishad to be a bit sharper
(chadha) and the tara shadja a bit flatter (kami). The madhyalaya
bandish composition was beautiful (Vasantrao's ?) and I enjoyed the
laya in which it was sung.

Chandrakantji continued his performance with raga Chandramohini (his
own creation). He sang his own composition - kahe bulaye ab tum mose
in madhyalaya Teentaal. The raga employed both madhyams, komal nishad
with all other notes being shuddha. I heard traces of Vachaspati
(komal n S G teevra m P komal n S), Marubihag (S shuddha M) and Gavati
(tar S D). I understood the aroha-awaroha as - 'n S G m (teevra) P n
S'/S' D m (teevra) P G m (teevra) G R S and the arohi phrase - S M
(shuddha) m (teevra) G R S.

Chandrakantji followed this with sanvare aijaiyo jamuna kinare mero
gaon (Kumarji's composition made popular by Vasantrao).

Atulchandra Dadhe and Sudhanshu Gharpure provided good tabla and
harmonium sangat respectively.

Overall though the performance had quite a few interesting elements it
was a bit disappointing with respect to pitch correctness.

- Bansuriwala

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58th Sawai: Shri. Sharad Khaladkar (Shehnai)

Main Artist: Shri Sharad Khaladkar (Shehnai)
Tabla: Sunil Khaladkar
Shehnai: Ram Khaladkar
Duggi: Abhay Kulkarni

Sharadji started his performance with raga Brindavani Sarang - gat in
Jhaptaal followed a gat in Teentaal.

For some reason Sarang was played very briefly - just for 10 minutes or so.

Sharadji continued his performance with Thumari - yaad piya ki aaye).
This was played much more elaborately.

All sangatkar provided supportive sangat.

- Bansuriwala

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58th Sawai: Pt. Jasraj (Vocal)

Main Artist: Pt. Jasraj (Vocal)
Tabla: Satyajit Talwalkar
Harmonium: Mukund Petkar
Mridangam: Shridhar Parthasarathi
Tanpura/Vocal Support: Ratan Mohan Sharma, Ankita Joshi, Suresh Patki,
Simantini Thakar

Panditji started his performance with raga Darbari (bada khyal in
vilambit Ektaal - jai jai shree durge, chhota khyal in madhyalaya
Teentaal - ajab teri duniya malik).

While it took a few minutes of initial singing mixed with mic related
issues for Panditji's voice to warm up, after that it was a treat to
ears as usual. That too with impeccable range of kharaj to tar tar
shadja! The meends were at their silky best. I especially love
Panditji's arohi approach to the komal gandhar in Darbari.

During the madhyalaya Teentaal bandish there was a small jugalbandi
between Satyajit Talwalkar and Parthasarathy. This was quite well done
and did not disturb the mood of the raga.

Panditji continued his performance with raga Bahar (bandish in Teental
- kaliyan chitak chitak naye naye ras).

Panditji followed this with a bhajan om namo bhgawate vasudevay.

Mukund Petkar on harmonium, Satyajit Talwalkar on tabla and
Parthaasarathi on mridangam provided good sangat.

Overall yet another performance that will stay in the mind for a long time.

- Bansuriwala

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58th Sawai: Jugalbandi: Pt. Vishvamohan Bhatt (Mohan Veena) with Pt. U. Sriniwas (Mandolin)

Main Artists: Pt. Vishvamohan Bhatt (Mohan Veena) and Pt. U. Sriniwas (Mandolin)
Tabla: Vijay Ghate

The artists began their performance with raga Yaman described by
Panditji as 'the simplest and most difficult raga'. The artists played
alap, brief jod and then switched to a gat in vilambit Teentaal
followed by a gat drut Teentaal.

While I am not in a position to comment on the specifics of the
performance, I salute the sense of tunefulness and aesthetics of both
the artists. Understandably there were many fast passages, including
the fast Teentaal session and sawal-jawab towards the end. However the
sanctity of sur and raga was respected and care was taken to avoid
being noisy.

The artists concluded their performance with the bhajan vishnav jana to.

Vijay Ghate's tabla sangat was excellent.

Overall a very interesting and memorable performance.

- Bansuriwala

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58th Sawai: Smt. Savani Shende-Sathe (Vocal)

Main Artist: Smt. Savani Shende-Sathe
Sangatkar:
Tabla: Ramdas Palsule
Harmonium: Suyog Kundalkar
Tanpura: Anuradha Patwardhan, Madhura Gadre

Savani started her performance with raga Puriya Dhanashree (bada khyal
in vilambit Ektaal - kesar rang sham chhayi, chhota khyal in drut
Ektaal - tore jaya jaya karatar, tarana in drut Ada Chautaal).

Savani has a beautiful and tuneful voice. The ragavistaar during
vilambit khyal was systematic, elaborate and quite laydaar. Tara
shadja was sung with a lot of power. Taans were well thought and well
executed. Tarana was packed with a lot of power.

Savani continued her performance with raga Hemant (bandish in
madhyalaya Ektaal - chalo sakhi aao aao)

Savani concluded her concert with an abhang - bolava vitthal karava
vitthal jivabhav)

Suyog Kundalkar and Ramdas Palasule provided very good tabla and
harmonium sangat respectively that included many excellent solo
pieces.

Overall a memorable performance.

- Bansuriwala

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58th Sawai: Uma Garg (Vocal)

Main Artist: Uma Garg (Vocal)
Tabla: Bharat Kamat
Harmonium: Suyog Kundalkar
Tanpura: Kanchan Laghate, Neela Vaidya

Umaji started her performance with raga Multani (bada khyal in
vilambit Ekataal - tu saheb jamal, chhota khyal in madhyalaya Teentaal
- balama more tumasang lagi preet). Umaji continued her performance
with a thumri in Mishra Khamaj - manat nahi shyam).

While some of the taans were well excuted, I found the performance to
be a bit mellow.

Suyog Kundalkar and Bharat Kamat provided supportive sangat.

- Bansuriwala

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58th Sawai: Begum Parveen Sultana (Vocal)

Main Artist: Begum Parveen Sultana (Vocal)
Tabla: Mukundaraj Deo
Harmonium: Dr. Arvind Thatte
Tanpura: Vidya Jaeel, Sachin Shete

Parveenji started her performance with raga Jog (bada khyal vilambit
Ektaal - parama sukha payo, chhota khayal madhyalya Teentaal - sukha
dukh dono aaj viraje)

Parveenji's voice was in great shape. Each note she sang - from the
kharaj to tar tar shadja - was packed with power and had a perfect
pitch. The supersonic taans were as beautiful as ever.

Parveenji continued her performance with raga Maluha Mand (bandish in
Jhaptaal - so hi deta rab he and tarana in drut Teentaal).

This was followed by Marathi geet - rasika tujhyach saathi mi ek geet
gaate. Kya baat hai!

Parveenji concluded her performance with Bhavani Dayani - bajan in Bhairavee.

Dr. Thatte's accompaniment was superb as usual.

Mukundaraj Deo provided good tabla sangat.

Overall a dazzling and memorable performance in spite of the strict
time limit (she sang for less than one hour)!

- Bansuriwala

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58th Sawai: Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia

Main Artist: Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia
Sangatkar:
Tabla: Anutosh Deghariya
Bansuri: Shri Sunil Avachat
Tanpura: Bhushan Vaze

Before starting the performance Panditji said that he would annonce
the name of the raga later. The raga had all shuddha notes except
madhyam which was always teevra. Komal dhaivat showed up quite a bit
(more than shuddha dhaivat). Komal rishabh also made guest appearance
a few times! Pardon me but I could not figure out the aaroha-awaroha.
The raga had a beautiful romantic mood with some haunting touch as
well.

Panditji played alap, jod followed by gat in Jhaptaal in this raga,
the name of which he announced in the end as Latangi!

After this Pandiji played a gat in raga Des set to Teental. Panditji
concluded his performance with a Pahadi dhun in Dadra.

I am a big fan of Panditji and an admirer of his vision of a
performance. He ensures that all members of audience have something
special for them!

Anutosh Deghariya's tabla sangat was very beautiful and admirably
completely devoid of noise and gimicks.

Sunil Avachat provided excellent bansuri support.

Overall a great performance as usual.

- Bansuriwala

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58th Sawai: Shri. Bhuvanesh Komakali (Vocal)

Main Artist: Shri Bhuvanesh Komakali (Vocal)
Sangatkar:
Tabla: Prashant Pandav
Harmonium: Suyog Kundalkar
Tanpura: Vinay Chitrav, Swarup Sardeshmukh

Bhuvaneshji started his performance with raga Puriya Dhanashree (bada
khyal in vilambit Ektaal - bala gayi jyot, chhota khyal in madhyalaya
Teentaal - aajara din duba)

Bhuvanesh has a beautiful voice that sounds similar to Kumarji's voice
in madhya and taar saptak but also sounds powerful in the mandra
saptak.

Right from the brief alaps, Bhuvanesh created a beautiful atmosphere
of Puriya Dhanashree. His swara lagav was tuneful and pleasing.
Especially the komal rishabh and komal dhaivat with respective meends
to shadja and pancham were lajawab. Ragavistaar in sthaayee as well as
antaraa of the bada khyal was elaborate and systematic. Taans were
crisp, well planned and superbly executed. The madhyalaya bandish was
also very well sung.

Puriya Dhanashree was followed by Kumarji's beautiful madhyalaya
Teentaal bandish mul bula ke puchho na (I think in raga Shuddha
Shyam). This was also sung quite well. Especially the tivra madhyam
was remarkable. This was immediately followed by teentaal bandish
sawan ki sanj in Shyam Kalyan - again sung extremely well.

Bhuvaneshji concluded his performance with a nirguni bhajan - sunta
hai guru gyani. This was the icing on the cake resulted in a hair
raising experience.

Suyog Kundalkar's harmonium sangat deserves a special mention. It was
never overpowering but accurate in sur as well as laya. Also the
independent pieces were very well thought and consistent with the
gayaki.

Prashant Pandav provided excellent tabla sangat.

Overall a fantastic performance bringing back memories of Kumarji's gayaki.

- Bansuriwala

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58th Sawai: Shri Sudhakar Chavan (Vocal)

Main Artist: Shri Sudhakar Chavan
Sangatkar:
Tabla: Prashant Pandav
Harmonium: Prabhakar Pandav
Tanpura: Rameshwar Dange, Purva Shah
Vocal Support: Shivanand Swami

Sudhakarji started the performance with raga Madhuvanti (bada khyal in
vilambit Ektaal - madhubana me shyam ne murali bajayi, chhota khyal in
madhyalaya Teentaal - main aaun tore mandirava). Sudhakarji concluded
his performance with an abhang avagha ranga ek jhala.

While initially Sudhakarji's voice sounded a bit shaky, it warmed up
nicely during the taans. The taans were powerful and well executed.

All the sangatkar provided supportive sangat.

- Bansuriwala

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58th Sawai: Shri Bhaskar Nath (Shehnai)

Main Artist: Shri Bhaskar Nath (Shehnai)
Sangatkars:
Tabla: Charudatta Phadke, Nanak Chand

Bhaskar started the performance with raga Multani. He played brief
alap, bada khyal in vilambit Ektaal followed by gats in madhyalaya
Teentaal and drut Ektaal. Bhaskar concluded his performance with a
ragamala based dhun in Dadra.

Bhaskar's playing was poweful yet quite tuneful. I also liked the
tonal quality a lot. The clarity of taans was remarkable.

While quite good by any standards, I must add that for a lad studying
in 10th std. this was an outstanding performance.

All sangatkars provided approprite support.

- Bansuriwala

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Live from 58th Sawai Gandharva Sangeet Mahotsav

Namaskar!

The 58th Sawai Gandharva Sangeet Mahotsav starts today. I will be
writing review blogs after each performance.

- Bansuriwala

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57th Sawai: Smt. Prabha Atre (vocal)

Main Artist: Smt. Prabha Atre (vocal)
Sangat:
Tabla: Ramdas Palsule
Harmonium: Suyog Kundalkar
Tanpura: Arti Thakur and Ashwini Modak

Prabhaji started the concert with raga Rageshri (khyal in vilambit
Ektal - ab to aao rasia, bandish in drut Ektal - lagi lagi tumiso
lagi).

Today Prabhaji's voice sounded a bit shaky and tired. However I must
immediately add that with good voice support Prabhaji ensured that the
quality of the overall performance was excellent.

The raga vistar was systematic and well planned. However antara
section was missing from the bada khyal (as expected). So was tar
saptak (including tar Shadja) except in taans. Antara was sung for the
bandish in the last minute before concluding Rageshri.

Rageshri was followed by Jog Kauns (Nand Kauns? This was not
announced. It employed komal nishad and I am getting confused)
(bandish in drut Ektal - par karo mori naiya, tarana in drut Teental).
This piece was also very well presented.

Prabhaji concluded her performance with Bairavi bhajans - mori naiya
kaise lage par and jagat janani bhavatarini.

All bandishes were superb (and I suppose most to be Prabhaji's own
compositions).Very commendable.

The vocal support was excellent and as was also evident last year
there was excellent coordination with the vocal support artists - yet
another indication of good preparation for this concert. Something I
hope other artists also emulate.

Ramdas Palsule and Suyog Kundalkar provided very good tabla and
harmonium sangat.

That's all folks! 57th Sawai Gandharva Sangeet Mahotsav has concluded
with playing a recording of Bhairavi thumri sung by Sawai Gandharva.

- Bansuriwala

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57th Sawai: Smt. Mallika Sarabhai (Bharatnatyam)

While I enjoyed (rather am enjoying as I type) this performance I am
not in a position to write about it. Hope the readers will pardon me.

- Bansuriwala

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57th Sawai: Satyasheel Deshpande (vocal)

Main Artist: Satyasheel Deshpande (vocal)
Tabla: Bharat Kamat
Harmonium: Suyog Kundalkar
Tanpura: Srujan Deshpande, Krishna Bhat

Satyasheelji started his performance with raga Jaijaiwanti (khyal in
vilambit Ektal - mathe jade chanda, bandish in Teental ye mai layee
sera banara?, bandish in drut Ektal - bairan jagi).

Though very tuneful and systematic I found the bada khyal somewhat
boring and lacking in power that is expected of Satyasheelji's
performance. The taans brought some life in the performance but just
after a couple of them Satyasheelji switched over to Teental bandish -
a beautiful one. Here again Satyasheelji quickly switched over to
another bandish - again a very beautiful one. Unfortunately the
singing of drut bandishes also was lacking in punch.

Satyasheelji presented a bandish in Darbari - nain so nain milahi
rahungi. He narrated a story about his guru Pt. Kumar Gangharva
discussing the need to also have the ability to present Darbari in a
somewhat lighter mood. He continued Darbari with a tarana in drut
Ektal. In my opinion Darbari fared much better than Jaijaiwanti.

After this Satyasheelji sang a beautiful bandish in Gaud Malhar (sawan
me ban me) citing it as an example of a bandish with a short mukhada.
This was sung really well.

Satyasheelji sang a nirguni bhajan jauji jaui duje ke sang nahi jauji.
Extremely well sung I must add.

All the sangatkars provided good support.

Overall a good performance.

- Bansuriwala

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57th Sawai: Pt. Ram Narayan and Harsha Narayan (Sarangi)

Main Artists: Pt. Ram Narayan and Harsh Narayan (Sarangi)
Tabla: Ramdas Palsule
Tanpura: Vinay Chitrav and Ms. Bhuskute

The performance started Harsh Narayan playing Shree (alap, gat in
vilambit Teental, gat in madhyalaya Jhaptal).
It was a very good presentation of Shree. Right from the start Harsh
created a great atmosphere of Shree. The tonal quality of Harsh's
playing was excellent and pitch absolutely perfect. The r-P and P-r
meends were very well presented. I was also very impressed by the way
komal rishabh and komal dhaiwat were played. The taans were very clear
and tuneful.

After this Pt. Ram Narayan and Harsh Narayan together played raga
Yaman (alap, gat in vilambit Teental, gat in madhyalaya Jhaptal, gat
in drut Teental). While this was an excellent performance by all
standards. My expectations were a bit hightened after Harsha's
performance of Shree and I felt a bit disappointed.

After this Panditji played a ragamala starting with Khamaj. He played
elaborate alaps in different ragas and then started with a Teental
based composition.

Ramdas Palsule provided very good tabla sangat.

Overall a memorable concert!

- Bansuriwala
PS:
Pt. Bhimsen Joshi came on the stage with Pt. Ram Narayan and greeted
him with flowes. Pt. Ram Narayan spoke a few words about Pt. Bhimsen
Joshi. He also stayed in the pandal in his car and listened to Pt. Ram
Narayan's performance.

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57th Sawai: Raja Miya (vocal)

Main Artist: Gulam Hussain Khan aka Raja Miya (vocal)
Sangat:
Tabla: Ramdas Palsule
Tanpura: Rajashri Mahajani and Mukul Kulkarni

Raja Miya started his performance with raga Purva (nom-tom alap, khyal
in vilambit Ektal - mana ke lo, bandish in Teental - saware suman). He
sang Barwa (bandish in Teental - prem baje mori payaliya). Barwa was
followed by a Khamaj thumri - maika nindiya na jagao gali dungi.

Raja Miya has a powerful voice and he sings in a full throated nasal
tone characterised by Agra gharana. The nom-tom was short and sweet.
The raga-vistar in the khyal appeard a bit hurried to me. However I
really enjoyed the full throated aakar taans. They were well planned
and well executed.

I am not used to listening to Agra singers but while I found some
parts of the performance fantastic - especially taans, some
school-boyish (singing of the bandish text and raga vistaar), some out
of tune in a peculiar way on the sharper side and some outright funny
(his body language - I had to work hard not to laugh at times).

I found the Barwa presentation a bit more consistently enjoyable as a
package. I also enjoyed the thumri.

I felt that the local sangatkars were also having a bit of difficulty
adjusting to a different style.

Overall the performance was a mixed bag for me.

- Bansuriwala

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57th Sawai: Smt. Girija Devi (vocal)

Main Artist: Smt. Girija Devi (vocal)
Tabla: Arvindkumar Azad
Harmonium: Suyog Kundalkar
Tanpura: Ruchira Kedar, Manasi Mujumdar

Girija Deviji started her performance with raga Jaunapuri (khyal in
vilambit Ektal - aas lagi more mana me, bandish in Teental - more
kanha...). This was followed by Bhairavi thumri (nahak laye gavanava).
Girija Deviji sang a hori - rang dalungi re (Mishra Khamaj?). After
this Girijaji sang a Dadra (Jhula? - divana kiye shyam kya jadu dala).
She concluded the concert with babul mora nai har chhutohi jaye
(Bhairavi)

The mukhada and sam of the bada khyal themselves convey the essence of
Jaupuri. Girija Devi's lagav of the komal nishad was simply
unforgettable and is an evidence of a lifetime of dedication to music.

I also enjoyed the other pieces - however I am inadequately equiped to
write about them. Interestingly in this concert Bhairavi was sung
twice and some other pieces were sung in between.

All sangatkars provided excellent support.

It was a very dignified performance by a musical stalwart.

- Bansuriwala
PS:
Pt. Bhimsen Joshi arrived in the pandal in a car during this
performance. It was an emotional moment.

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57th Sawai: Ustad Shahid Parawez (sitar)

Main Artist: Ustad Shahid Parwez (sitar)
Tabla: Ramdas Palsule

Shahidji started the concert with raga Nata Bhairav (alap, jod, jhala,
gat in vilambit Teental, gat in Rupak and a gat in drut Teental). This
was followed by a dhun in Dadra (in Mishra Mand? - this was not
announced and there was a real lot of Mishra element). On a 'once
more' Ustadji played one more dhun in Dadra (again Mishra Mand?)

The alap was played very beautifully. The meend work was exquisit.
Shahidji ensured that the subtle beauty of every note in Nata Bhairav
got conveyed in the alap. The jod were sublime, jhala simple and
controlled. The layakari during gats was well thought. The fast taans
were crisp.

Ramdasji's solo pieces were well executed and consistent with the mood
of the raga.

Throughout the performance great care was taken to ensure correctness
of tonal quality and tuning. This ensured that even the atidrut
Teental jhala (short and controlled) sounded beautiful and surel.

I also enjoyed the dhun emmensely. It was played with a soft touch and
souded very sweet. This also got a big applause and a 'once more'. I
also liked the 2nd dhun which I found quite similar to the first one.

Overall a superb performance! Kya baat hai!

- Bansuriwala

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57th Sawai: Raja Kale (vocal)

Main Artist: Raja Kale (vocal)
Tabla; Nana Mulay
Harmonium: Uday Kulkarni
Tanpura: Sham Joshi and Amruta Kale

Rajabhau started his performance with raga Todi (khyal in vilambit
Ektal - raj karo tum, bandish in madhyalaya Teental - eri mayi aaj
shubhamangal gavo). Todi was followed by Alhaiya Bilawal (khyal in
vilambit Teental - reha re kanhai, bandish in drut Ektal - roke dharo
gel mori ho to nandala). Rjabhau sang Bhairav-Bhatiyar next (bandhish
in madhyalaya Teental - karam karo mope sai). Rajabhau sang an abhang
(saguna sampanna pandharichya raya) to conclude the performance.

The badhat during the sthayi sounded a little shaky but Rajabhau's
voice warmed up beautifully when the tar Shadja came and antara
started. The layakari was simple but beautiful. The taans quite crisp.

Nana Mulay and Uday Kulkarni provided good tabla and harmonium
support. Unfortunately the vocal support was not upto the mark.

Overall a very surel performance devoid of unnecessary stunts. I like
it this way. Good show!

- Bansuriwala

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57th Sawai: Pt. Ulhas Kashalkar (vocal)

Main Artist: Pt. Ulhas Kashalkar
Sangat:
Tabla: Pt. Suresh Talwalkar
Harmonium: Dr. Arvind Thatte
Tanpura: Samiran Kashalkar and Omkar Dadarkar

Panditji started the concert with raga Malkauns (khyal in vilambit
Jhoomra - daya karo ab to shriram, bandish in Teental so van de re ab
maye). Malkauns was followed by Sohoni (madhya laya Teental bandish -
dekh dekh mana lalachhayi). Panditji sang Bhairavi thumri (hori?) to
conclude the concert (aayo phagun mas in Rupak).

It was a grand performance. To me Panditji's presentation signified
dignity and purity - that of sur, raga, taal and laya. Every single
sur and every matra was given full attention. Every taan had a hair
raising effect. Every sam played a dha in the hearts of all present.
It was perfection exemplified by all the artists in unison.

Pt. Suresh Talwalkar and Dr. Thatte were in complete synchronization
with Panditji throughout the concert. Omkar Dadarkar and Samiran
Kashalkar provided excellent voice support.

I am too overwhelmed to write any further!

Good night!

- Bansuriwala

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57th Sawai: Samhita Nandy (vocal)

Main Artist: Samhita Nandy (vocal)
Tabla: Bharat Kamat
Harmonium: Avinash Dighe
Tanpura: Anuja Kalyankar and Ms. Mahajani

Samhitaji started her performance with raga Bageshri (khyal in
vilambit Ektal - bahu guna kam na ave, madhyalaya bandish in Adha
Teental - gunda lavo re malaniya followed by a tarana in Teental).
Bageshri was followed by a bhajan - chain nahi ghanashyam tarapat hun
dinarat - in raga Mand.

Samhitaji possesses a beautiful husky/silky and weighty voice. Her
singing reminded me of Roshanara Begam. From the very begining she
captivated the aidiance with very tuneful and full throated swara
lagav. The initial alap was leisurely and was very successful in
establishing Bageshri in the air. The sargam was very well done. Taans
were crisp and clear - cut a bit short in my opinion. During
madhyalaya bandish amd tarana also there was a lot of emphasis on
sargam with only a few crisp taans. Samhitajis short/fast taans with
lots of murkis sound very similar to those of Roshanara Begum. I think
Samhitaji must be doing this conciously.

I also enjoyed the bhajan a lot.

Bharat Kamat and Avinash Dighe provided excellent tabla and harmonium sangat.

Overall this was an excellent performance with complete focus on
ragabhava and complete absence of fireworks. Superb!

- Bansuriwala

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57th Sawai: Biswajit Roy Choudhary(Sarod)

Main Artist: Biswajit Roy Choudhari (Sarod)
Tabla: Ramdas Palsule
Tanpura: Kirti Pandit

Biswajitji started his performance with raga Chhayanat - alap, jod,
jhala and gats (4 of them) in madhyalaya and drut Teental. Biswajitji
played a mandhyalaya composition in Adana on a 'once more' request.

The alaap badhat was unhurried and created very good atmosphere of
Chhayanat. Meend-work was very well done. Noisy parts were kept to a
minimum. However I think Biswajitji needs to pay more attention to
tuning/pitch. Pitch problems which were present throuout but got
blatant in 3rd gat onwards when I think the tara shadja string went
out of tune and did not get corrected till the end of Chhayanat
performance. The last couple of minutes of the gat were noisy and
almost completely besur. But this had the desired effect - big
applause and cheers of 'once more'!

Tar shadja woes continued during Adana...

Ramdas Plalsule provided excellent tabla sangat as usual.

I had better expectations from Biswajitji (especially so since I have
attended a much better performance by him a few months back).

- Bansuriwala

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57th Sawai: Shrikant Deshpande (vocal)

Main artist: Shrikant Deshpande (vocal)
Tabla: Pandurang Mukhde
Harmonium: Prabhakar Pandav
Tanpura: Sudhkar Chavan, Sanjay Garud and a couple of names that I did not catch

Shrikantji started his concert with raga Puriya Dhanashree (khyal in
vilambit Ektal - sumir tero naam, Teental bandish - payaliya jhanakar
mori and a drut Teental tarana). This was followed by a mishra Kirvani
thumri - nadan soch samajha nahi pave. Shrikantji sang the abhang
kanhoba tujhi ghongadi changali.

Puriya Dhanashri presentation was systematic and leisurely - true to
the Kirana style. However compared to Shrikantji's performance during
the last year's Sawai I found this to be a bit pale. His voice sounded
somewhat tired today(must have taken the toll being the main
organizer).

Pandurang Mukhade and Prabhakar Pandav provided appropriate tabla and
harmonium sangat.

- Bansuriwala

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57th Sawai: Chandrashekhar Vaze (vocal)

Main Artist: Chandrashekhar Vaze (vocal)
Sangat:
Tabla: Bharat Kamat
Harmonium: Suyog Kundalkar
Tanpura: Gauri Karambelkar and Anjali Vaze

Chandrashekharji started his concert with raga Marwa (khyal in
vilambit Ektal - piya more anant, madhyalaya Teental bandish - sun sun
batiya sagari ratiya). This was followed by an abhang - adhi ka maja
laviyali savaya ata na rahave tujavin. The bhajan made famous by Pt.
Phiroj Dastur (Chandrashekharji's guru) gopala meri karuna kyon nahi
ave was interspersed in the abhang. On a 'one more' request he sang
the Jogiya thumri piya ke milan ki aas.

Chandrashekharji has a powerful voice and he uses it very well by
singing in a full throated manner. Right from the start he captivated
the audiance with aggressive swara lagav well suited for Marwa. The
swara vistar was systematic. Tara shadja and the antara alaps were
very impressive and full of punch. Taans were crisp, well rehersed and
power packed.

The abhang, bhajan and thumri were also very well sung. The standard
set by Marwa was maintained throuout the performance.

Bharat Kamat's tabla accompaniment deserves a special mention.
Especially the layakari during the bada khyal taans on the dhala tabla
was simply superb. Suyog Kundalkar provided very good harmonium
sangat.

Overall an outstanding performance.

- Bansuriwala

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57th Sawai: Shrinivas Joshi (vocal)

(Note: This review did not get posted immediately after the concert due to a typo in the email address. I also could not check the blogsite from the mobile due to intermittent Airtel signal problems at the venue. My apologies!)

Main Artist: Shrinivas Joshi

Sangat:

Tabla: Prashant Pandav

Harmonium: Avinash Dighe

Voice Support: Viraj Joshi

Shrinivasji started his performance with raga Puriya Kalyan (vilambit Ektal khyal - aaj so bana, madhyalaya teen tal - bahut din bite).

This was followed by a bunch of bandishes on Pt. Bhimsen Joshi.

- ajaba nirala upaja - raga Basant Mukhari - Rupak Taal (on his silence - or mauna)

- omkar omkar - raga Darbari - Jhap Taal (on what people felt about his singing)

- hara kadam khilaf thi khudai - raga Chhayanat - Ada Chautaal (about his struggle)

- surasanga rangaraliya - Khamaj Thumri - Addha Teental (on his

surilapan/surasangat)

This was followed by an abhanga - majhe maher pandhari.

I am impressed by Shriniwasji's poetic skills. I have no further comments about the performance.

- Bansuriwala

PS:

I found the matar karanjis I had at a stall outside the pandal during this performance to be absolutely fantastic.

57th Sawai: Smt. Malini Rajurkar (vocal)

Main Artist: Smt. Malini Rajurkar (vocal)
Sangat:
Tabla: Bharat Kamat
Harmonium: Dr. Arvind Thatte

Maliniji started her concert with raga Kaushi Kanada (khyal in
vilambit Ektal - rajan ke sirataja followed by drut Teental bandish -
kahe karat mose barajori). Malinitai concluded her concert with
Bhairavi - bandish (tapa khayal?) in madhyalaya Teental - ali ri...).

As usual Malinitai's performance was very disciplied and digified. The
raga vistar in the bada khyal was systematic and unhurried. She took a
few minutes to warm up but after that the swara lagav was powerful
with crystal clear notes. Taans were crisp and well executed.

Bharat Kamat and Dr. Thatte provided superb tabla and harmonium
accompaniment. In my opinion the trio of Malinitai with Bharat Kamat
and Dr. Thatte is an ideal team of Hindusthani classical musicians -
especially when it comes to maintaining the dignity of the art and
professionalism.

Overall an excellent performance as expected.

Good night!
- Bansuriwala

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57th Sawai: Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia (Bansuri)

Main Artist: Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia
Sangat:
Tabla: Vijay Ghate
Pakhawaj: Bhavanishankar
Violin: Siddharth
Bansuri: Sunil Avchat

Panditji started the performance with raga Bhupali - alap, jod, jhala
(jod and jhala were accompanied by pakhawaj).
Panditji continued the concert with raga Marubihag - brief alap
followed by a gat in madhyalaya Matta Tal. After this Panditji played
Raga Durga (gats in Addha Teental and drut Teental). Panditji played
Pahadi dhun to end his performance.

It was a spirited performance by a great musical visionary. The
aesthetic beauty of the performance was out of this world. I am a big
fan of Panditji's and have attended a number of his concerts over many
years in many places - includintg many performances at Sawai. But
today's performance was something really special. Writing about the
specifics of different pieces played in the concert is beyond my
abilities. I simply salute Panditji's vision of the 'big picture' for
each of the pieces as well as the performance as a whole.

All the sangatkars provided excellent support.

- Bansuriwala

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57th Sawai: Rajendra Kandalgaonkar (vocal)

Main Artist: Rajendra Kandalgaonkar (vocal)
Sangat:
Tabla: Ramdas Palsule
Harmonium: Rajiv Tambe
Tanpura: Harshad Dongre and Sachin Bodhre

Rajendraji started his performance with raga Multani (vilambit Ektal
khyal - gokul gaon ke chhora, drut Ektal bandish - nainana me aan
baan). Multani was followed by a Pahadi thumri (sainya bina ghar
suna). Rajendraji concluded his performance with an abhang (pandhari
nivasa sakhya panduranga).

Rajendraji possesses a powerful voice which is well suited for Kirana
style. The swara vistar in bada khyal was unhurried, tuneful and true
to the spirit of Multani. The taans were crisp, clear, well planned
and well executed.

The thumri and abhang did not fare as well. I found both to be a bit out tune.

Ramdas Palsule and Rajiv Tambe provided excellent tabla and harmonium
sangat respectively.

- Bansuriwala

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57th Sawai: Pt. Jasraj (Vocal)

Main artist: Pt. Jasraj
Sangat:
Tabla: Satyajit Talwalkar
Mridangam: Parthasarathy
Harmonium: Mukund Petkar
Tanpura (vocal): Ratan Mohan Sharma, Ankita Joshi and many others

Panditji began his performance with raga Jog (vilambit Ektal - piya
ghara na, madhyalaya Teental - tum bin kaise kate din ratiya). This
was followed by a raga that sounded like Bahar with both gandhars -
with shuddha being prominent - to me (eri ma sakal banat ghan -
madhyalaya Teental). Could this be some kanada?
After this Panditji sang Adana (mata kalika - Addha Teentaal). This
was followed by Basant (aur raga sab bane barati dulha raga Basant).

While overall this was not a bad performance it was clearly not Panditji's best.

Towards the end of 2nd raga there was some interesting Tabla-Mridangam
jugalbandi.

Good night!

- Bansuriwala

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57th Sawai: Tarun Bhattacharya (Santoor)

Main artist: Trun Bhattachrya
Tabla: Abhijeet Banerjee

Tarunji started his performance with raga Rageshree in which he played
alaap, jod, jhala followed by gats in madhyalaya Jhaptal and drut
Teentaal.

After Rageshree Tarunji played a Bhatiyali dhun.

In addition to striking the strings by the kalams Tarunji uses many
different ways (plucking, pulling/pushing strings by hand etc.) to
produce sound. This produces sounds of very different tonal quality
and unfortumately the performance sounds very inconsistent as well as
noisy. This also disturbs the tuning a lot (which unfortunately did
not get corrected in a timely manner).

The drut gat and jugalbandi/sawal jawab with tabla sounded even
noisier and out of tune to me. But it got a lot of applause and even a
once more!!

May be there is something wrong with my ears.

- Bansuriwala

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57th Sawai: Devaki Pandit (vocal)

Main Artist: Devaki Pandit (vocal)
Sangat:
Tabla: Ramdas Palsule
Harmonium: Suyog Kundalkar

Devakiji started her performance with raga Bhimapalasi (khyal in
vilambit Ektal - naad samund...-)

It was a very captivating performance right from the start with full
throated singing and excellent swara lagav. Devakiji sang the full
bandish at the begining of the khyal. The tara shadja that came as
part of the initial rendering of antara was lajawab. The vilambit
badhat was systematic and very effective in establishing the mood of
the raga. The taans and layakari was crisp, pleasing and devoid of
stuntbaji. Vilambit khyal was followed by a drut Teental bandish by
Pt. Jitendra Abhisheki. Interestingly I found the style of
presentation of the vilambit khyal similar to that of Kishori Amonkar
while the rendering of the drut bandish reminded of Abhishekibuva's
singing.

Devakiji continued the recital with raga Amrutvarshini - atara anant
anamay in vilambit Rupaktal (interestingly not in v. Ektaal as I have
heard sung by Abhishekibuva) followed by ka sanga kini preet in drut
Ektaal. This was also sung very beautifully with a lot of emphasis on
establishing the mood of the raga. The taans and layakari were
superbly executed in Abhshekibuva's style.

After this Devakiji sang a lighter composition (kajari?) in mishra
Kirwani set to Keherva.

Devakiji concluded her performance with an Abhang - aamha nakale dnyan.

Ramdas Palsule and Suyou Kundalkar provided excellent tabla and
harmonium sangat respectively.

Overall a fantastic performance!

- Bansuriwala

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57th Sawai: Pt. Nagnath Wodiyar (vocal)

Main artist: Pt. Nagnath Wodiyar (vocal) - student of Gangubai Hangal
Sangat:
Tabla: Bharat Kamat
Harmonium: Avinash Dighe
Tanpura: Vasudev Karekar and Megha Wodiyar

Panditji started his performance with raga Multani (gokul gav ke
chhora - khyal in vilambit Ektal followed by madhyalaya Teental
bandish - aaj bajat badhai). Raga Multani was followed by a bhajan -
aaj sakhi sadguru ghara aye in a raga that sounded like Bhinna Shadja.

Sadly while the glimpses of solid Kirana talim were quite visible,
this was an off colour performance with Panditji's voice sounding
shaky and tired.

Bharat Kamat and Avinash Dighe provided good tabla and harmonium sangat.

Sound systme (power?) problems caused a 10 minute disruption at the
begining of the performance.

- Bansuriwala

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57th Sawai: Pramod Gaikwad (Shahanai)

Main artist: Pramod Gaikwad (Shahanai)
Sangat:
Shahanai: Dilip Gaikwad, Seema Gaikwad and Namrata Gaikwad
Tabla: Ulhas Kulkarni and Nitin Gaikwad

Raga: Gavati - Khyal in vilambit Ektal and a bandish in
madhyalaya/drut Teental. Gawati was followed by a Mishra Pilu dhun in
Dadra.

It was a somewhat boring performance (as expected) useful for sound
system and audience to settle down. To be fair I enjoyed the dhun
which was short and sweet.

- Bansuriwala

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Sent from my mobile device

Live blogging from 57th Sawai Gandharva Sangeet Mahotsav

Namaskar!

The 57th Sawai Gandharva Mahotsav is about to begin. In fact the
customery clapping just took place. I am planning to live blog using
my mobile phone. It is my first attempt of live blogging. Keeping my
fingers crossed (mentally as I need to type).

I'll be making short posts - one per performance.

- Bansuriwala

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Sent from my mobile device