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A historic concert: Pandit Ravi Shankar bids ‘Farewell to Bangalore’

Madanmohan Rao Madanmohan Rao Madanmohan Rao Madanmohan Rao

A historic concert was held on February 7th 2012 : the farewell performance to the city of Bangalore by sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar and his daughter Anoushka Shankar. The concert ‘Farewell to Bangalore’ was organised by the Premanjali Education Trust as a fundraiser for their various projects.

Its past concerts have featured vocalists Bhimsen Joshi and Balamuralikrishna in a duet. At a book launch earlier in Bangalore, Ravi Shankar said, “Music runs in the veins of every individual, and it is the thread that binds us all together.”

In the first half of the concert, Anoushka Shankar played a 40-minute set accompanied by Pirashanna Thevarajah (mridangam) and Tanmoy Bose (tabla) on percussion. Dressed in a dazzling white dress, Anoushka began by saying it was wonderful to be back in Bangalore, and to be playing along with her father. “I could have had no greater honour than to have opened for my father in this concert,” she said. She opened the performance with the evening Raga Puriya Dhanashree. The next piece, based on Raga Bhilaval, featured a beautiful solo by Ravichandra Kulur on flute.

She ended the set with a piece based on Raga Vachaspati, called ‘Variant Moods‘. Originally composed as a duet with violin featuring Joshua Bell, the piece had solos from all the four musicians. The acoustics were perfect in the packed indoors hall, with a huge backdrop of garlands creating a triangular shape.

After a short interval, Pandit Ravi Shankar himself walked on stage. Almost 92 years old, he had the support of a walking stick and was unable to squat in the traditional cross-legged fashion on the floor, choosing to sit at the edge of a platform instead. He also had a full flowing white beard, very different from his usual clean-shaven look, and joked to the audience: “I hope you can recognize me!”

The entire audience of over 3,000 people stood up to welcome him as he greeted them: “Namaskara, Bengaluru!” He also joked that due to his age he would not be able to run as fast as his daughter and the rest of the musicians, but he would try his best. His depth of knowledge and skill later showed in the jor and jhala phases of classical music as well as melodies of folk compositions.

He began his performance with Raga Yaman Kalyan, which he said was his favourite raga. Starting off soulfully, the piece picked up with a jugalbandi between father and daughter. This was followed by a raga composed by Ravi Shankar himself, Tilak Shyaam. During the announcement he coughed, and apologised: “Sorry to be so unmusical!”

The next piece started off in Raga Khamaaj and then evolved into a medley of other ragas (Kiravani, Bageshri, Hansadhvani, Peelu), kathak and folk songs. Sanjeev Shankar also accompanied on the shehnai, and there was a superb call-and-response session by the tabla and mridangam players who then fused in a perfect crescendo.

A special treat for music fans was hearing the sitarists play with a small towel on the strings, producing a muted effect; the towels were then removed, revealing the full rich sound of the sitar in all its glory. Ravi Shankar thanked all the musicians, reading out their names from a sheet of paper, explaining that he could not trust his memory! He also introduced the maker of his sitars, Sanjay Sharma.

Though in his nineties, the veteran musician displayed remarkable energy and skill, an inspiration to all in the audience, who thanked him with a standing ovation and roars of approval and gratitude as he waved to them. The musicians on stage all touched his feet, and he departed with Anoushka guiding him by the hand. The audience sensed one chapter of musical history closing, but another chapter opening with the passing of the baton.

Anoushka Shankar at UB City Bangalore

Vishwesh Bhat Vishwesh Bhat Vishwesh Bhat

If there is one Indian city that has advanced well on the professional front, and still holds the pulse of the personal space, then it has to be Bangalore. It makes news for being India’s IT hub, but there are regular mentions of its city life too. Musical concerts, dance festivals, and theatre are regular occurrences on the Bangalore stages.

The talented daughter of Pt. Ravi Shankar was recently in Bangalore, to promote her latest album Traveller. Bangalore’s famous open-air amphitheater in UB City was slated to serve as the venue for her performance. But this was not going to be a usual one. Anoushka had chosen to fuse her Indian classical rhythms with Spanish Flamenco.

The audience was curious as to what would the outcome of Indo-classical and Spanish Flamenco be, and so was I when I entered the crowd at UB City. The much-awaited moment arrived, and Anoushka gave her distinguished start to the musical evening. She opened the kit with a harmonious, but unconventional, Raga Bhairavi while a minimalistic sound of Tabla and Tanpura backed it up.

Her choice of Raga was unconventional because Bhairavi is traditionally sung at the end of Hindustani concerts. This had come as a surprise for those who expected the customary start to the event. This Raga was the only one that was performed in the pure classical style. As the event progressed, she introduced the flavour of Flamenco and though she had begun with the light sounds of Tabla and Tanpura, the other members like Guitar, Shehnai and Percussion joined in, along with the vocals.

The true connoisseurs of Indo-classical music would know that the 6 beats of 16 beats pattern was readily complimenting the other sounds, but the majority of the listeners was there for music, not the technicalities. They could sense that the beautifully executed jugalbandi between the sitar and guitar, and the Percussion and Kunnakols was flawless. As they say, appreciation is the fuel for an artist. The crowd was cheering, and the performances were gaining impulse. The entire on-stage execution seemed well-rehearsed, as not a single beat or strum was out of place. No single instrument worked any less, or any more than the perfect limit!

Anoushka’s main motive to perform was to give an insight of her recent release Traveller. But since the mood was all set for the evening, she did not shy away from experimenting with several other aspects. Her set, which had started with Raga Bhairavi, had begun to reach the lovely Khamaj and the famous Carnatic Raga Keeravani. Anoushka then proceeded to sing a soft song that aimed directly at the hearts; she seemed a bit diffident initially to perform the ‘Love Song’, but when she did, she left the crowd asking for more. Finally, she concluded the evening with the beautiful Raga Jog.

The knock-down voice of Sandra Carrasco was doing justice to the Vocals. Melon Jimenez was good at the Flamenco Guitar, and El Pirana managed Cajon and Spanish Percussion. These three musketeers added their own tone to create a magical fusion. Sanjeev Shankar made his mark in the performance with his emotional Shehnai, though it sounded forced at some places. London’s Prasanna Thevarajah brought about the true colors of Carnatic music with his splendid variations at the Carnatic instruments- Mridangam, Ghatam, Morsing and Khanjira. He also worked on Kunnakols at some occasions, and proved the mettle of his dynamism. Though Carnatic Percussion is not generally chosen for Hindustani music, he pulled it off really well. Tanmay Bose set a good ambience with his Tabla too. I am an old admirer of the Tabla and have witnessed the different variations it has been used with at numerous concerts and I felt that there was yet a lot more scope for Tanmay’s improvisations.

This was sure an experimental endeavor trying to dig out connections between Indo-classical and Flamenco. Perhaps that is the reason it felt like a dose of Filter Coffee and Coke. The blend did go down well, I must say. The ones with an inclination to either of Indo-classical or Flamenco could not have found anything better than this evening.

Anoushka Shankar has evolved as a music virtuoso, some people attribute it to her genes, and some to her inherent talent. Her immense control on her tones was a delight to witness. Those who wished to spend the evening drenched in music had got the best they could at UB City.