Leaving the audience spellbound

It was indeed a unique evening, for the instruments did all the talking. Raag, a musical concert organised by members of Vikasana, a student-run social initiative of Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B), opened to a packed house. The concert, that was put together as part of the ‘Joy of Giving’ week celebrations, hoped to raise funds for the flood victims of Uttarakhand.

The evening began with a jugalbandi by violinist R Kumaresh, mridangam player Patri Satish Kumar, flautist Praveen Godkhindi and kanjira artiste Guruprasanna. The crowd welcomed the artistes with loud applauses and the atmosphere was lively right till the end of the show. What kept the audience and the artistes engaged was the mutual cheering. While a section of the audience expressed their appreciation rather loudly, the artistes were interactive and supported each other quite well during the performances.

It was not just the musical concert — the 23-member student council organised an event a day during the ‘Joy of Giving’ week. Talking more about the initiative, Srikanth, president of Vikasana explained, “We have a different theme for each day of the week. A few of the themes are ‘Committing to Run’, ‘Give to Rehabilitate’, ‘One Day at IIM-B’, ‘Spreading Warmth’ and ‘Let’s Light a Candle.’ The aim is to raise as much as funds possible through these programmes. The response for the musical concert has been overwhelming and we hope to hold more such cultural programmes in the future.”

The event turned out to be a pleasant surprise for students who had never heard these artistes before. Monika Dubasi, a final-year student said, “This is the first time I am watching a jugalbandi on campus. The way the four artistes kept the audience engaged was very interesting. Usually, classical concerts don’t start with fast compositions and it was very surprising that they did. It is very tough to hold the viewer’s attention from start to end but they succeeded in it. The lecture on music was also very informative.” She added that it was tough to pick one favourite piece but in general, felt that the combination of the flute and violin was truly remarkable.

Shashank, another student said, “The cause for which all the artistes have come together should be appreciated. Such acclaimed artistes elevate the value of any event. It was a mesmerising concert. The way they performed each and every composition was magical. I am a fan of Praveen Godkhindi and he never disappoints music lovers at any of his concerts.”