Soothing ragas for the soul

Well-known classical singer Nagaraj Rao Havaldar took the stage at the Ananya Sabhangana, Malleswaram recently to present a Hindustani recital to the music-lovers of the City.

Accompanied by M Nagesh on the tabla and Ashwin Walavalkar on the harmonium, Dr Nagaraj’s performance was a treat to all the classical music aficionados.

A leading artiste of the Kirana Gharana, Nagaraj is a disciple of Madhava Gudi, who is in turn a disciple of Pandit Bhimsen Joshi.

Gifted with a powerful voice that easily traverses three octaves, Nagaraj’s
performances have always been appreciated by the
music-lovers.

His renditions of compositions in various languages create a spiritually uplifting ambience, which was experienced by all those who were present at the concert.
 Nagaraj started the evening on an unusual note.

He presented a Kannada composition by Purandaradasa which is usually not heard in a Hindustani classical concert.

“Generally, Hindustani music is associated with Hindi, Bhojpuri and Punjabi songs. A Kannada song is usually sung as a devaranama (a devotional song) at a Hindustani concert. But I changed it into a khayal and presented it,” explained Nagaraj.
 Post this, he presented a composition in raga durga and followed it up with raga nat malhar, which is a confluence of two ragas — chhayanat and miya
malhar.

He then presented yet another Kannada composition by Purandaradasa titled Nanena Madideno Rangayya, which was appreciated by one and all. He ended the concert with a composition in raga bhairavi.

Raghavendra, one of the organisers of the show and a fan of classical music, simply loved the performance. “What I liked about the show was the fact that in the beginning itself, he presented a Kannada composition as it is normally assumed that Kannada songs are not the main ragas in a Hindustani music show,” he said.

“One could see the styles of Madhav Gudi and Bhimsen Joshi in him,” he added. It was a walk down memory lane for Raghavendra too.

“We had organised one of his shows in 1995 and till date, he is very heartwarming and polished,” he summed up.