An impressive rendition

Unique Platform

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, in association with the Infosys Foundation, organised a light music show at the Indian Institute of World Culture recently.

Singer Shivanand Bhat, tabla player NG Hegde and harmonium player Manoj Thamankar presented bhavageethe, semi-classical songs and bhajans as part of the event.

They began their performances with a chota khayal — payaliya jhankariya — in madhayalaya in teentaal and proceeded to bhavageethe. Some of the
bhavageethe recitals included Channavera Kanavi’s Halavu Bannagalu, Da Ra Bendre’s Koduvudenu Kombudenu and Kuvempu’s Bhuvanadhi Mallige.

GS Hegde, one of the organisers, said, “These musicians have come from remote villages across the State. Not often do they get a chance to perform in big cities. The purpose behind organising this show is to introduce these artistes to the people here. More importantly, such shows also help these musicians earn good money as they are not paid well in other cities compared to places like Bangalore.”

He added that these musical shows help the musicians find better opportunities. “Such shows may not always act like a launchpad but they certainly help in having a better reach. Many organisers wait for a chance to grab these people as their talent is not explored to the fullest,” he said.

Their bhaktigeete recitals also had Kanakadasa’s Varavakodu Vagdevi and Sriranganathana Pariya while some of the bhajans like Ramaka Guna Gan were rendered on the occasion. 

Singer Shivanand said these offers boost their confidence. “I come from a small village called Honnavar in Uttara Kannada district. I am very grateful to the organisers for bringing me here. Many talented people can’t always make it big only because nobody gives them a chance to prove their capability.

Even if we get to perform in front of a few people in big cities, it is still a big achievement for us. Travelling to many cities and performing in front of different audience gives us more confidence.”  

A majority of the audience were senior citizens who seemed very impressed with the show. Moorthy, a senior citizen, said, “All the musicians performed so well. I came to encourage such artistes as these are the ones that need our support to come up in life. There is so much publicity when celebrity artistes perform, but when these people perform, nobody knows. They are also very good, but it’s unfortunate that their talent goes unnoticed.”

Nagesh, another member of the audience, said, “It was a good show. You don’t often get to listen to all these semi-classical songs and bhajans in most of the music shows that are held in the City. It feels nice to listen to such songs in the evenings, especially for old people like us. Today, however, there were not many people at the show maybe because it is a weekday. I think having such shows during the weekends will help in bringing in more people.”