JOIN USBarkha Ritu, an evening of soulful and soothing music, was held at Chowdaiah Memorial Hall recently.
Perfectly in tune with the weather and theme of the concert, which was rain, the performers’ rendition grasped the attention of the audience. It was for the seventh year that Barkha Ritu was being held in Bangalore.
The highlight of this year was the inclusion of Carnatic music.
The concert saw Rahul Sharma on the santoor, Subhankar Banerjee on the tabla, T M Krishna on the vocals, H K Venkatram on the violin and K Arun Prakash on the mridangam. The mastery over the instruments did complete justice to the theme of rain.
“There are ragas according to the different time cycles. We want to depict the various seasons through music. The santoor resonates the sound of water,” said Rahul Sharma. He added, “It is a hard-core classical concert and I am expecting a similar kind of audience.”
The expectations from the audience were high and they were surely not let down.
“I really love classical music and regularly attend many of them. This is a shorter concert than the regular classical concerts but a richer one. I hope it is interesting,” said Suryanarayanan, who was there along with his family.
“My interest in classical music has just started building up and I have recently started attending such concerts. It is just the beginning. Since I had heard about the performers I wanted to watch them in person,” said Amit Kumar, prior to the concert.
Sharada, a classical music enthusiast said that she had heard much about the performers which is what brought her to the concert.
“I really hope to have a good evening, especially since I am here after hearing about their music. I am expecting a lot from the performers. I really hope they live up to my expectations,” she said.
The evening started off with a solo performance by Rahul and it was with a rare ease that he got the audience swaying to his tunes.
Many in the audience were seen tapping their feet to the beats as he struck the right notes.
Effortlessly blending various styles, the music sounded like magic producing the sound of rain.
Staccato beats added to the crispness of the music.
“I see that many youngsters are interested and into music although I don’t want to categorise it as classical music. I don’t think classical music has lost its audience, even though a lot of different forms have evolved including fusion. I’ve had a good audience in the last 23 years that I have been performing,” added Subhankar Banerjee.
“I love classical music which really helps me relax. Whenever I find time, I
make it a point to attend such concerts. I enjoy listening to other genres of music, including fusion,” said Arundati, who came along with her family.
“The ease with which the musicians were able to make us feel as if it were really raining was amazing,” said Shruti, a member of the audience.