Taking the rich legacy forward

The ‘27th Devnandan Ubhayaker Yuva Sangeet Utsav 2013’ was organised by the Smriti Nandan Foundation at The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan recently. The annual music festival was a delightful treat to all the classical music lovers in the City. As many
as 11 young Hindustani artistes performed during the two-day event.

Indira, a committee member of Smriti Nandan, said, “The Sangeet Utsav was founded by Hindustani vocalist Lalita Ubhayaker in memory of her son Devnandan. It was a tough phase for her as she had lost her son and her voice in the same year. Smriti Nandan was her idea to keep the music alive. She has left a legacy behind and we hope to take it forward in the same way as she would have wished.”

Response to classical music concerts has changed over the years, admitted Indira. She said, “It is a tough task to sustain the interests of the audience. If a concert is held on a weekend, it is indeed a challenge to get more audience. Having said that, I will not believe that classical music is dying. We have many young artistes playing at the Sangeet Utsav and this indicates that the love for classical music will always be there in the hearts of music lovers.”

This has been a platform for many budding artists and has featured great musicians like Ustad Rashid Khan and Shahid Parvez. Indira added, “Shivani Mirajkar, a young vocalist who performed on the first day of the Utsav, told me this platform would remain a milestone in her career. The Utsav has been a launchpad for many artistes and showcases at least two instrumentalists, one drupad singer, one vocalist, one singer from the City and one from the State.” “It tries to introduce artistes from across the country,” she added.

It was indeed a unique experience for vocalist Chaitanya Bhat, who performed for the first time at the Utsav. The singer is a mechanical engineer by profession. Music is his passion. He said, “I find Hindustani music very soothing and that is why I practise it.” “I have been practising music for the last 17 years. Back then, there were not many people of my age who practised classical music. Today, we are in the phase where we can call Bangalore the capital city of classical music in South India. Response to my show has also been very good.” Chaitanya’s performances included Bhatiyar raag-vilambit composition in ek tal and dhrut composition in teen tal. Amrita, a member of the audience who also practises music, said, “I have never heard a full-length concert in Bhatiyar raag. Chaitanya’s performance was traditionally well-presented. It was a new experience to all the music lovers. I thoroughly enjoyed the show.”

The Sangeet Utsav featured Shivani Mirajkar, Chintan Upadhyay, Chaitanya Bhat, Subhranil Sarkar, Apratim Majumdar, Ramakant Gaikwad, Adarsh Shenoy, Bharath Hegde, Sukhad Munde, Kedarnath Havaldar and Sarwar Hussain. Danseuse and actress Vyjayanthimala was also present at the event.