Melodies for all times...

 Held at Chowdiah Memorial Hall, the event was divided into morning and evening sessions and held in collaboration with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). Both the artistes treated the audience to soothing raags.

Conceptualised by Susheela Mehta, the president of Sursagar, the stage was decorated with coconut leaves and had an aesthetic backdrop. A statue of Goddess Saraswati, sitting on a rock and holding a veena, caught the immediate attention of the audience.

 Explaining the three-fold approach of the organisation, Susheela Mehta said, “The forum has been formed to promote, propagate and preserve Hindustani raags. For the past 30 years, we have been giving equal opportunities to renowned as well as budding artistes.

We have incorporated scholarships in order to promote young deserving artistes. We also have been conducting lecture demonstrations on the various aspects of Hindustani music.”
The morning session began with a sitar recital by Ustad Shahid Parvez, who enthralled the audience with his exceptional talent. Belonging to the Etawah Gharana, he commenced the performance with alaap, jhod and jhala, revealing his imagination and creativity.
Next, he presented Ahir Bhairav to depict early morning melody.

He explored all the aspects of the raag and showcased the characteristics, moods, mysteries and secrets of it to the audience. Later, he moved to Raag Shudh Sarang and concluded the concert with Raag Bhairavi, which showcased his dazzling virtuosity. The audience was moved as he strummed the instrument with a lot of passion.

The hall was full during the evening session to witness the concert of talented vocalist Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar. Trained under three distinct yet prominent gharanas — Gwalior, Agra and Jaipur — the music maestro took the crowd on an ecstatic journey through his wonderful renditions.

He began his performance with an alaap in Shree, an evening raag. It was followed by Raag Bhupali which got much appreciation from the audience. Tarana was the highlight of the performance and got a huge response. It was Raag Hameer which took the audience to the greatest heights of delight as everyone enjoyed it. He concluded the performance with Raag Basant Bahar. Both the artistes were accompanied by Pandit Yogesh Samsi on tabla and Vyasamurti Katti on harmonium. Vijaykumar Desai and Jagannath Rao supported them on tanpura.

C G Ananthaswamy and Pandit Gourang Kodical, the founding members of Sursagar, were also honoured on the occasion.