Music lovers were in for a treat at Yamini 2014, the dusk-to-dawn concert, which was held at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B) recently.

Maestros like L Subramaniam (Carnatic violin), ‘Hyderabad Brothers’ (Carnatic vocal), Kaushiki Chakraborty (Hindustani vocal), Pandit Tarun Bhattacharya (Hindustani santoor), and a troupe of odissi dancers with their Gotipua folk dance enthralled the audience at the 11th edition of the programme.

They brought together a confluence of numerous rasa and raga to render an ecstatic experience. Tarun Bhattacharya, who played a special composition in Charukesi  raga on santoor, said, “I never like to miss an opportunity like this. A concert of this kind for management students is good because they really need to manage their lives. And there’s nothing better than music like this to help them out.”

Playing a new composition, Jhamtal, the musician who was participating in Yamini for the first time said, “Although I have performed at this venue on other occasions, this is the first time that I am taking part in this particular dusk-to-dawn concert. But since there are a lot of students who are part of the audience, my presentation style is going to be slightly different so as to ensure that they remain engaged with the music.” 

He added, “These days, we have so many mediums that classical music has to compete with. But from my performances at schools and colleges, I find that there are so many students who come up after the show keen to know how they too can get trained in classical art forms.” 

Alok Ranjan Das, a mridangam player whose group performed the Gotipua folk dance said, “We’ve got a 50-minute performance lined up. The highlight of this evening is the dance which also consists of acrobatics and yoga.”

   The audience, who listened to the music in the open air, clapped its hands to the rhythmic beats. Sharada, who had come for the show along with her family, said, “ It’s wonderful — both the music and the ambience. My family, after seeing that there are so many popular names performing, decided that we should come for this. The concept is interesting.”

   Sripriya, another member of the audience said, “From what I’ve heard so far, it’s been really good. The artistes, each with their different background, have offered something unique. So far, the performance of ‘Hyderabad Brothers’ has been the best. I’m not sure whether I’ll be able to stay around till dawn though I would love to.”