Today in history..

Indian classical music lost its voice with the demise of Pandit Bhimsen Joshi this year.

And if the music industry was still reeling under the shock, ghazal lovers lost the melodious strains of Jagjit Singh, and Ustad Sultan Khan, best known for all time hits like Piya Basanti and Albela Sajan Aayo Re.

This loss was followed by the demise of rudra veena exponent Ustad Asad Ali Khan, harmonium maestro Ustad Mehmood Dhaulpuri, sitar maestro Pandit Uma Shankar Mishra and shehnai master Pandit Anant Lal.

In order to pay tribute to these legends, ‘Saal Naya, Sur Naya,’ a classical music programme was performed by India Habitat Center (IHC). The afternoon was dedicated to all the legendary artistes who left behind a legacy of their artistic creations to be remembered. IHC brought together artistes of the younger generation who are keeping the traditions alive of their gharanas and paramparas. The musical event took place on January 1 at Stein Auditorium, IHC.

“It was for the first time that we organised an event with this theme. There were performers from almost all streams of Indian classical music. Audience applauded the artistes with each performance,” says Shadab, organiser at IHC.

Grandsons of Pandit Anant Lal opened the concert with a shehnai recital, followed by Shrinivas Joshi, son of Pandit Bhimsen Joshi of kirana gharana. Murad Ali, torchbearer of the muradabad gharana played sarangi and enthralled the audience further, while Abhay Sopori who represents the ninth generation of musicians of the sufiyana gharana of Kashmir was on santoor. The performers were accompanied by  Durjay Bhaumik, Vinod Lele and Aman Ali (tabla), Vinay Mishra (harmonium), Praveen Sethi (pakhawaj) and Anand Shankar (dukkad).

Murad Ali, sarangi player says, “I dedicated my first performance of the year to my grandfather, Ustad Sultan Khan and all those stalwarts from the field of music, who have left their ardent listeners behind.”

“The audience was very happy with the performance and even appreciated the selection of all the artistes present during the event. It was surely a positive start for the year.
We chose sarangi and shehnai artistes as they are not really popular like other instruments. These are the artistes who are taking their legacy and gharanas forward. It was surely a proud moment,” concludes Shadab.