Lilting sounds of the season

The City was treated to an evening of soulful and soothing Hindustani classical music at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan recently. Called ‘Young Colours of Malhar’, the music brought forth the splendour of the monsoon. Artistes Ravindra Katoti, Yogesh Hunswadkar and Poornima Bhat Kulkarni, along with accompanists, played Malhar ragas throwing the audience into a trance. 

The improvisation and the techniques brought forth the image of falling raindrops and dance of the peacocks in the rain. Ravindra, who was on the harmonium, said it was a unique experience for both the performers and listeners to listen to malhar ragas during this season. “Listening to malhar during any other season and listening to it during the monsoon, makes a big difference. It’s good to have a well-informed audience who have heard a lot of music,” he explained.

Yogesh, a renowned vocalist who performed Miya ki Malhar and Megh, said, “The listeners in Bangalore are very knowledgable. Many of them are used to listening to music of renowned artistes.” Although it was an evening dedicated to pure classical music, many in the audience were youngsters.

Yogesh explained, “There is really no need for fusion or modernisation of classical music. We are here to express the beauty of classical music. The richnesss of classical music cannot be replicated.”

According to vocalist Poornima, it is theme-based events such as these which attract a crowd. “People are looking for theme-based events. For instance, the songs that are being sung here cannot be performed during any other season,” she said.

She added that a number of her students are youngsters. “These days there are a lot of people looking to learn classical music. In fact, many of my students are youngsters. Depending on how good a performer’s music is, he/she will surely be able to attract a crowd irrespective of the genre,” she said.

“I’m a music lover and I came here after attending a similar concert recently with the theme of rain. After that, I was really curious to know what was in store here. It’s been a wonderful evening having listened to different styles of performers. It was really enchanting,” said Radha, a member of the audience. For others like Raji, the evening was ‘mesmerising’.

“It just brought on the flavour of the sea­son. The sounds of rain were resonating to the tune of malhar raga. All the solo performers with their accompanying artistes did an excellent job of reverberating the sounds of the season through their voices and musical instruments,” she explained.