Concert review/ Remembering DV


BY NARENDRA KUSNUR 

Aditya Modak/ Remembering DV

Genre: Hindustani classical 

Details: NMACC Cube, May 9

Rating: ****

It was a busy Saturday in Mumbai, with Carnatic maestro T.M..Krishna performing at the J.W. Marriott and blues-rock guitarist Warren Mendonsa's Blackstratblues scheduled at G5A. I opted for young Gwalior gharana vocalist Aditya Modak's show at the NMACC Cube theatre simply for nostalgic reasons.

Aditya, who is also known for his lead role in Chaitanya Tamhane's Marathi film The Disciple, was launching the Remembering DV shows in memory of the legendary Dattatreya Vishnu Paluskar. As such, his repertoire would take listeners back in time, and also provide some rare gems.

The son of icon Pt Vishnu Digambar Paluskar,  'DV' passed away in 1955 from an illness when he was only 34. He had numerous recordings in khayal and bhajans, besides being known for 'Aaj Gaawat Man Mero', his duet with Ustad Amir Khan in the 1952 film Baiju Bawra, which had music by Naushad.

Aditya's selection focused on the shorter khayal pieces, and had only one bhajan in the marvellous 'Janakinath Sahaay'. The set lasted 90 minutes, as per the venue's mandate, and one wished he had sung more devotional tunes like 'Thumak Chalat Ramchandra' and 'Raghupati Raghava Rajaram', which have a following of their own.

The impressive thing was the number of compositions presented given the time limit. Aditya was accompanied on harmonium by Ajay Joglekar, violin by Shruti Bhave and tabla by Bharat Kamath, all of who had some remarkable individual portions. Neerja Apte did the narration in Hindi, providing a life sketch and mentioning anecdotes about how Paluskar once held the massive Red Fort audience in thrall even though he came after playback star Mohammed Rafi, and how classical doyenne Kesarbai Kerkar once praised his singing after a performance.

The recital began with raag Shree, with the cheez 'Hari ke Charan Kamal', followed by 'Jab hi sab nirpat' in Bhoop, the senior Paluskar's composition based on Sita Swayamvar. The raag Gaud Malhar bandish 'Kaahe Ho Hum So Preetama' and 'Paapi Dagurwa Bulaaye Re'.

The Bahar piece 'Kaliyan Sang Karta Rangraliyan' and Tilak Kamod composition 'Koyaliya Bole' were presented immaculately and Miyan Ki Malhar came before the much-awaited 'Jankinath Sahaay'. On request. Aditya concluded with Bhairavi though it was past scheduled time, but he didn't sing a Paluskar composition here.

While Aditya showed remarkable control over building the raags and delivery of taans, what was impressive was the balance between vocal delivery and the commentary between songs. Even while Neerja was telling interesting stories, Shruti played the violin at a low volume to provide a soothing background.

Aditya says he plans more shows as part of the Remembering DV series. One looks forward to them, hoping they last at least two hours. It'll be great if more youngsters are drawn to the mastery of Paluskar.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Naren's indie round-up/ June 2024, Ep 4

Image
BY NARENDRA KUSNUR The Anirudh Varma Collective feat. Divyam Sodhi & Kavya Singh/ Mausam Label: Self-released  Rating: ***** Delhi-based The Anirudh Varma Collective has been doing some exceptional work, blending classical melodies with contemporary sounds in a rather subtle manner. The new song 'Mausam', from their forthcoming album, is another such gem. It's a song about longing, sung fabulously by Divyam Sodhi and Kavya Singh, who also complement each other very well. The lyrics by Likhari uses lines like, "Mausam badalta jaaye, balma na aaye". A highlight is Anirudh's arrangement, which makes good use of sarod, guitar and ghatam. All musicians get their space and the fusion is seamless. Captured live in the studio in Saubhagya Saxena's video, with a guest appearance by model Vrinda Chadha.  Utsavi Jha/ Kaise Kaise Label: first.wav Rating: *** 1/2 Singer Utsavi Jha has been releasing songs for the past four years. After 'Piya' in April, she ...
Read more

Naren's indie round-up/ Jan 2023, Ep 4

Image
BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Kamakshi Khanna/ Breathe Label: Self-released  Rating: ***** Everything seems just right about Delhi-bred Kamakshi Khanna's new single 'Breathe'. She sings from the heart, vents out, expresses anxiety and self-doubt, creates an impact. Kamakshi has written the lyrics herself, using lines like, "Every day's a fight, but now I search for the light that was there inside". The main line goes, "I just have to breathe", and there's beauty in the way she sings 'breathe' each time. Add to that a crisp production, with gentle ukulele, subtle rhythms and Ajay Jayanthi's angst-filled strings. Anjali Kamat's illustrated video adds to the vibe. The best thing is that it's a song many will emotionally relate to in the quest for peace. Shehzad Ali & Siddharth Kasyap/ Ishqbaazi Label: SK Music Works Rating: **** Composer Siddharth Kasyap has maintained a good balance between fusion projects and pop tunes. His new song ...
Read more

Gig review/ Enrique iglesias

Image
BY NARENDRA KUSNUR  Enrique Iglesias/ Live in Mumbai Genre : Pop/ Latino-pop Details : MMRDA grounds, Bandra Kurla Complex, October 29 and 309 Presented by : Eva Live Rating : ** 1/2 As he proved at his shows at the MMRDA grounds in Bandra Kurla Complex on October 29 and 30, Enrique Iglesias has some special talents. His voice can have the same volume whether his microphone is close to his lips or three feet away, or whether it's perched safely on its stand as he's dancing some 10 feet away. He can also trick the cameraman to show he's singing high notes on the giant screen when his mouth is shut.  Most of the audience, of course, didn't notice this brilliant improvisation of the art of ventriloqu-lipism. They had come to party, and a party is what they got. They had come to dance, and dance is what they did. The ladies in their early 40s wanted to remember their first real-life crush, and they did that secretly. They had come to sing along with their 'Hero', a...
Read more