Magan Mandir celebrated the contributions of Pandit Chinmoy Lahiri to Indian classical music in a programme held at Rabindra Sadan. Pandit Lahiri has left behind a treasure trove of compositions in thumri, dadra and geet-ghazal. Besides this, he has also enriched the oeuvre of Bengali ragpradhan — light classical — songs. His son, Shyamal Lahiri, and daughter-in-law, Mandira, took the responsibility of keeping alive compositions by Pandit Lahiri in the programme, Tribeni Tirtha Pathe Ke Gahilo Gaan — the hard work that went into organising this event was obvious. This title is taken from an iconic film song, which also reminded the audience of the deep connection that the stalwart shared with Bengali cinema and film music. The evening started with performances by the disciples of Mandira Lahiri — it was a well-coordinated medley with four different compositions based on the ragas, Patdeep, Gaud Malhar, Kedar and Durga. They were accompanied by Nabagota and Krishnendu on the tabla and Anirban and Diptam on the harmonium.
The vocalist, Suranjana Bose, took the stage next, singing songs of spring and monsoon; her voice was clear and generous. She was ably supported by Subhajyoti Guha on the tabla and Ritwik Mitra on the guitar. The next performance was by Anirban and Diptam (picture, left). They focused on Bengali ragpradhan songs created by Pandit Lahiri based on ragas such as Shiv-Sohagi, Jogmaya, Nand-Kauns and Panchameshwari. Their style of singing, coordination as well as expertise in this particular genre were striking. They were accompanied by Samir Nandy on the tabla, Shubhrangshu Mukhopadhyay on the harmonium and Sayantan Bijoli on the guitar.
This duet was followed by a performance by their guru, Mandira Lahiri, who sang several types of ragpradhan compositions like a kheyal-ang based on Raga Madhuvanti, a thumri-ang on Manjh Khamaj, an agamoni based on Raga Durga as well as a soulful presentation in Malgunji. Her smooth and spontaneous rendition was a treat for listeners. She was supported by Rahul Ganguly on the tabla, Ritwik Mitra on the guitar and Ratan Bhattacharjee on the harmonium. The evening concluded with a beautiful performance by Shriradha Bandopadhyay who chose compositions based on morning ragas like Lalit, Salag Varali Todi, Ahir Bhairav and Jogiya. Her sincere, melodious and impressive presentation enchanted the audience. The entire evening was woven together with narration by the senior elocutionist, Debasish Bose.
Studio SC Communication and Skinny Mo’s Jazz Club came together to pay homage to the late santoor maestro, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, through a concert titled Shraddhanjali. The programme was inaugurated with a vocal recital by Anol Chattopadhyay, who was accompanied by Kousik Banerjee on the tabla and Jyotirmoy Bannerjee on the harmonium. Chattopadhyay began his recital with a vilambit kheyal followed by a teentaal composition in Raga Rageshree. The intricacies in his singing and the clarity of his voice left their mark. He also sang the popular thumri, “Yaad piya ki aye”.
Tribute to the santoor maestro would have been incomplete without a santoor recital and Sandip Chatterjee (picture, right) gave an enchanting and mellifluous performance along with Subhajyoti Guha on the tabla. He rendered an alaap and jod in Bageshree, followed by a drut jhamptaal and a teentaal composition. He concluded with a popular dhun based on Mishra Pahadi.
