Four concerts, four genres and a weekend

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR

Friends often ask how I manage to attend shows every day. Obviously, I don't. What happens is that most events in Mumbai take place between Thursday and Sunday, and that's when a bit of binging happens. Not all the four days but on two or three, either if I have to cover them officially or if they seem exciting on their own. I still have four free evenings a week.

Last weekend was filled with activities - so I managed four shows between Friday and Sunday. The good thing is that they spanned four diverse genres. Here are brief notes on all of them. Of course, attending them means I missed out on a few big ones.

Friday, July 24: Khazana ghazal festival, day 1, The Trident, ghazals: This is the 25th year of the prestigious event, and as always drew a packed house. The special highlight was that Sonu Nigam would perform, though before the show, one wasn't certain what he would sing.

Sonu nailed it, singing many of Pankaj Udhas' famous songs. After all, Pankaj Ji was the force behind the festival, conceptualised after a tea-time chat with Talat Aziz and Anup Jalota. Sonu's rendition of 'Ghungroo Toot Gaye', 'Niklo Na Benaqaab', 'Thodi Thodi Piya Karo' and the evergreen 'Chitthi Aayee Hai' had the crowd in a frenzy.

The opening day also featured Hariharan, Rekha Bhardwaj and a couple of young singers. It was preceded by a tribute to Asha Bhosle and many artistes who graced the festival over the years. Tejas Gambhir's rendition of Hariharan's 'Kaash Aisa Koi Manzar Hota' was fabulous. Also commendable were the duets 'Taj Mahal Mein Aa Jaana', popularised by Rajendra-Nina Mehta and sung here by Sudeep Banerji and Nihira Joshi, and Bhupinder-Mitali's 'Raahon Pe Nazar Rakhna', sung by Tejas Gambhir and Aleena Bharti.

One wished the opening introductions were a bit shorter, so that the music could begin earlier. Another thing is that many people often miss the artiste performing around 9.30-10 pm as they head to the other room to have dinner. In this case it was Hariharan. 

I couldn't attend the second day, which had Anup Jalota, Vishal Bhardwaj, Sudeep Banerji and Javed Ali. Where was I?

Saturday, July 25, Meeta Pandit, MIG Club, Hindustani classical: I had seen Meeta earlier this year at the Udayswar concert at the Prithvi Theatre. That was a morning recital and the Gwalior gharana vocalist had sung ragas Lalit, Deshkar and Bhairavi. Her show organised by the Sangeet Sabha Bandra East on Saturday was an evening presentation. She stuck to monsoon melodies in the two-hour concert.

Meeta was just recovering from high fever and said she hoped the Dolo 650 would help her. She began with three compositions in Surdasi Malhar, ending with a tarana, and then moved into Gaud Malhar.

She then presented some light classical pieces including 'Chaayi Ghata Ghanghor', popularised by Shobha Gurtu. Yati Bhagwat was on tabla and Anant Joshi on harmonium. It was a pleasant evening, marred at times by two people talking loudly at the back. They probably thought everyone had come to hear them.

Besides day 2 of Khazana, I missed the Bolava Vithal abhang concert at Shanmukhananda and vocalist Swar Sharma's performance at the NMACC Cube. The son of Rattan Mohan Sharma and grand-nephew of Pandit Jasraj, Swar carries forward the tradition of the Mewati gharana. He sang 'Om Namoh Bhagavate Vasudeva', a Jasraj favourite. Hope to hear it some other time.

Sunday, July 26 morning, Mousumi Datta, Prithvi Theatre, Indo-fusion: This was part of the monthly Jazz@Prithvi series presented by Louiz Banks and curated by Gino Banks. More than jazz, it was Indo-fusion, as Mousumi blended elements of Hindustani classical, Bengali folk, jazz and funk.

Besides singing, Mousumi played the bass, sometimes doing both simultaneously. It wasn't easy and she never went 'off' for a second, but the effect would have been something else with a mic. Prithvi has this no-mic system and it takes time for musicians, specially singers, to adjust.

The compositions were well-structured, and tunes like 'Beautiful World', 'Ratiya', 'Rain of Stories' and 'E Mon Jane' struck a chord. The solos by guitarist Subid Khan and percussionist Shikhar Naad Qureshi were excellent, and flautist Hrishikesh Majumdar and pianist Deivat Tapodhan provided perfect accompaniment. 

It was an ideal start to the day, and the evening offered a choice between the Abhangvari concert of Mahesh Kale and something whose name reminded you of a music label.

Sunday, July 26 evening, Rewind With H-M-V, NMACC Studio, nostalgia: What H-M-V stood for has no connection with records. Rather, it stood for Hamsika, Merlin, Vivienne. When I entered, I had little idea what it would be like, only knowing there would be some connection between east and west. And the initial songs sounded like it would be a routine, yet fantastic, rendition of covers.

And then it took off, turning out to be a total trip in nostalgia and entertainment, with some humour added as an embellishment. While Hamsika sang Hindi film classics like 'Aaiye Meherbaan' and 'Zara Si Aahat', Vivienne presented English evergreens like 'Where Do I Begin' and 'What's Love Got To Do With It?'

But as I said, there was more. Some great mash-ups, a fabulous medley of instrumental film themes pieced together by pianist Merlin and some jokes. 'Raabta' mixed with 'Every Breath You Take', 'Babuji Dheere Chalna' met 'Sweet Dreams' and famous item songs were played to  Doors and Deep Purple riffs.

Mozart peeped in, both in the symphonic and Hindi film style, and James Bond made an entrance with a skyfall. The two singers exchanged roles too, and the final 'copied songs' medley had the audience singing along. Loved it. Yeh hai Bambai meri jaan.

The show was curated by Gina Lewis, and featured Milton Daniel on guitar, Russell Fernandes on bass and Bhuvan on drums, with saxophonist Rhys Sebastian appearing on a few numbers. What a perfect end to the weekend. Now for a few days' rest. From shows, that is.