Out of the world concerts at the Qutub Minar
Raag Mantra, a Delhi-based organisation, held the second edition of its annual music festival with the backdrop of the imposing Qutub Minar looming behind the stage. Organiser Azeem Ahmed Alvi shared that the attempt was to create an out of the world experience, bringing the best in the world of classical music to Delhi, with an incomparable visual experience. However impressive a backdrop is, the physical difficulties of an outdoor concert, with the constant audible flying overhead of planes, and other loudspeakers interfering in the concert marred the overall experience.
That apart, the fact that the concerts were ticketed was laudable: Delhi audiences must indeed slowly be taught to pay for the fine music they get. The evening started an hour late, with the attractive Nirali Kartik taking the stage at 7 pm, and singing for 45 minutes. She started with Raga Bhimpalasi, and then sang Raga
Kedara. A disciple of Pandit Sanjeev Abhyankar, she sings with confidence, despite her youth, and is equipped with an arsenal of “sargam taans”. She was accompanied by Zaheen Khan on the tabla and Paromita Mukherjee on the harmonium. Nirali insisted on ending with a “shloka”, cryptically calling it a “mantra” as the organiser was Raag Mantra; so Ustad Shujaat Khan only started at 8 pm. The thorough gentleman that he is, he compressed his recital to within an hour, essaying a brief Raga Maru Bihag, and ending with his inimitable rendering of Amir Khusrau’s “chaap tilak” and “ai ree sakhi”. On the tabla were Hafeez Ahmed and Arunangshu Chaudhury.
The eagerly awaited concert of Dr L. Subramanium was confined to a mere 35 minutes: as per government rules, the concert had to finish at 10 pm. With this knowledge, one wondered why the organisers had three items in the first place. Dr Subramanium had flown in from Colorado for this concert, so its brevity was even more distressing. But, with the first movement of his bow, his mastery was established; his violin is totally his own with its rounded mellow tone. He played his own composition, an ode to Ganesha in Raga Shripriya that he had composed very recently, he said, while at
the temple of Mallayur in Kerala. Structuring the presentation intelligently, he first introduced only the mridangam, as accompaniment; then had only the tabla, then all four percussionists including khanjira and morsingh. The effect was layered, and multi-hued. Dextrously mixing impressive speed and awesome bowing with lingering on notes, and slow heartfelt movements, the maestro interspersed his recital with flashes of “layakaari”. The overall experience was one of total absorption, sitting on the edge-of-the-seat excitement, and truly unforgettable. What he can coax from a note, no one else can. Within a mere 20 minutes, one had experienced the whole gamut of his music in a cleverly crafted presentation giving small glimpses of his ability and range.
The next piece was a mellow Bhairavi. Sadly, the maestro’s contemplative aalap was marred by the explosion of a series of loud firecrackers, which he took in his stride. After the concert, Dr L. Subramanium shared that he had been told he would start at 8 pm; and he had expected to play for two hours. His fine team of accompanyists were Ustad Akram Khan on the tabla (impressively both Zaheen and Hafeez are his disciples), Shri D.S.R. Murthy from Hyderabad on the mridangam, Vidwan Sathya Sai (“Morsing Samrat”) on the morsing also from Hyderabad, and Smt. Sakhi Lata Ramachar from Bengaluru on the khanjira.
Dr L. Subramanium’s concert reminded one that great music can indeed create magic in mere minutes.