The dedication, hard work and the attitude towards music matters more than anything else when one decides to be a performer.
Pandit Sudheendra Bhowmik is one of the few remaining singers of Agra Gharana.
Many of the features of this ancient gharana came alive in his gayaki at the Vasudevacharya Bhavana where he sang in memory of his Guru Pandit Ramarao V Naik who was an erudite scholar , an excellent vocalist and an ideal teacher.
This program was sponsored by ‘Swara sankula Sangeetha Sabha’ of Mysore. Pandit Bhowmik has also learnt under Pandit Dinakar Kaikini, K G Ginde and S C R Bhat.
Training in Thumri by Shobha Gurtu is an added feather in his cap. Bhowmik is a versatile musician who can sing Dhrupad, Dhamar, Khyal, Tappa-Thumri, Hori and Bhajans . The connoisseurs of Mysore did get a glimpse of a few of these in his recent concert.
He was accompanied by Veerabhadriah Hiremath on the Harmonium and M S Kiran on the tabla.
Pt Bhowmik treated his listeners with a pure and peaceful music with no gimmicks or acrobats in the name of music. As a proof of the rich repertoire of ragas in Agra gharana, he presented a number of ragas like Multani, Marva, Kedar, Khamach and Misra Keeravani.
The nom tom alap, the variety of rhythmic techniques and the usage of double notes and the unhurried dhruth were pleasing and enabled the listener to enjoy the beauty of the raga.
Every composition was marked by his precise knowledge of the raga and its melody. He sang a few compositions of his Guru Dinkar Kaikini in a sincere and pleasant voice. Veerabhadriah Hiremath’s sath was inspiring and complementary and so was Kiran’a tabla.
Promising vocalist
Young and promising vocalist L Archana has been trained by Vid Koviladi Kala of Mysore. She has a good manodharma backed by a fluent flow of spirals in her voice and perfect hold on laya. Her recent concert at Veene Sheshanna Bhavana proved that she has the potentials of becoming a good musician with a little more effort. She sang under the aegis of ‘Ganabharathi’ accompanied by M A Jyothi(violin) and A Radhesh (mridanga).
The opening Varna in Sahana ‘Karunimpa’ was followed by a composition of Papanasam Sivan ‘Gajavadana Karunasadana’ in the raga Sriranjani. A brief alapana in Saveri lead to a perfect presentation of the famous kruthi of Shyama Shastri ‘Shankari Shankuru’.
The fairly elaborate of Gowrimanohari could have been impressive had it been a little bold in presentation. Strengthening her lung power will certainly help in the long run. ‘Shri Ramaa saraswathii’ was a good choice in Nasikabhushini in which she proved her fantastic manodharma.
The main raga of the day was Shankarabharana that had perfect gamakas and time tested sangathis to make it colourful. The kalpanaswaras were interesting with a variety of patterns. A Tamil composition of Rajaji and a few Kannada Devaranamas added pep to the concert.