A bundle of talent on stage

“These boys and girls are our future as they are keeping our traditions alive. These artistes are a bundle of talent and have already made their presence felt on stage as fine performers,” said Shashi Vyas, the host for the evening.

The show started exactly on time even though some of the attendees were late. “I think we need to respect the time of the people who are here,” says Shashi. The first day of the show had artists Purbayan Chatterjee and Sumedha Desai performing on classical melodies. The first one on stage was Sumedha Desai. “This is the first time I am performing for the City of Bangalore and I am hoping to get the blessings of everyone present,” she said.

The auditorium echoed with her voice, as she began Raag Puriya Dhanasri. The soft beats of the tabla only accentuated the effect of her strong and divine voice. She was accompanied on stage by Mayuresh Vast on the tabla and Vyasmurti Katti on the harmonium.

Sumedha, who hails from Goa, made her unique presence felt on stage with her performance, which captured the audience’s attention till the very end.

It was easy to see why, as she performed with absolute ease and such joy, that it was difficult not to appreciate the music even if you were not a follower of classical music.  The long and high pitched aalaps, followed by the sudden quietness, were breathtaking.

Sumesha also performed on light music like thumri and bhajans besides classical music. She was followed by Purbayan Chatterjee, a young sitar maestro who was joined on stage by Satyajit Talwalkar on tabla.

Purbayan, with his own distinct style, enchanted the crowd. The evening was filled with classical ragas like Yaman and Mathar and the music was a combination of Pandit Nikhil Banerjee’s rich tone and the contemporary touch of his own urban sensitivity. The artiste finished his performance with great applause.

Child artiste S Akash, who has performed in Aarohi before, was also present at the concert. “I played Mathar today and am going to play a different raga tomorrow. I have performed in Bangalore before and it has always been a great experience for me as I get to learn from it,” he said, about being a part of the series.