Listening session/ Pt Nikhil Banerjee

 

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR

Listening session/ Pt Nikhil Banerjee

Conducted by; Pt Nayan Ghosh 

Genre: Hindustani classical 

Details: Experimental Theatre, September 12

On January 27, 1986, the Hindustani classical world received a huge shock with the death of sitar maestro Pandit Nikhil Banerjee. He was only 54, and had been suffering health issues for a while, before having to stop mid-way during a concert in Calcutta after feeling uneasy. He was rushed to hospital where he passed away.

Banerjee, known as Nikhil-da, was best known for creating his own mark in a scenario where sitar music was already dominated by two legends Pt Ravi Shankar and Ustad Vilayat Khan. He left behind many recordings, including some rare ones which visitors at the Experimental Theatre got to hear at a guided listening session hosted by sitar and tabla veteran Pt Nayan Ghosh on Friday.

For 90 minutes, the audience was spellbound as they heard Nikhil-da's rendition of various raags, with Ghosh talking about his early life in Calcutta, and his training under Baba Alauddin Khan in Maihar, and later Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and Annapurna Devi.

The host also described the maestro's approach to music, salient features of his artistry, and how flautist Pt Pannalal Ghosh and vocalist Ustad Amir Khan also influenced him, besides talking of his introvert personality and humour. After the opening alaap-jod in raag Desh, shown on video, the meditative and introspective qualities of his music were mentioned. A while later, complex taans in the same raag showed his dexterity.

At such sessions, given the limited time allotted, it is not possible to play entire raags, some of which last an hour or more. So they had to be faded out after a certain length, though the audience is always keen to hear more.

But what we got was truly a treasure, the experience being enhanced by the fact that the sound quality was clean and sonorous. For instance, the stereo interplay between left and right channels for sitar and sarod during the Banerjee-Ali Akbar Khan  jugalbandi in Maanjh Khamaj was impeccable. Though it was an audio recording with pictures of both artistes shown on the screen, one could visualise their playing live.

The selection was a mix of audio and video, with many taken from shows in the 1970s. The other raags included Maru Bihag, Marwa, Kirwani and Pancham Se Gara, with a fantastic finale provided by an audio recording of Puriya Dhanashree, featuring 24-year-old Zakir Hussain, when Nikhil-da was 44. In the videos, one also caught glimpses of tabla exponents Pt Mahapurush Mishra and a young Pt Anindo Chatterjee. A special feature was an archival recording of his performance of raag Maluha Kalyan at NCPA in 1975.

The session was part of the NCPA-Citi Naad Ninad series. Needless to say, attendees returned home with plenty of nostalgia, probably digging out their own Nikhil Banerjee collections or exploring the streaming apps.




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