The city of joy witnessed a beautiful amalgamation of a tribute and a celebration at the launch of a memoir on the film director, Gautam Halder, by La Strada, organised by the Calcutta Classic Foundation, along with a musical soiree in memoriam. The book launch was followed by music recitals by Armaan Khan and Amaan Ali Khan (picture, right). The young vocalist, Armaan, sincerely followed the legacy of his illustrious father, Late Ustad Rashid Khan, and began with Raga Megh. His full-throated recital was perfectly suitable for the monsoon, with gamaks in the lower and the middle octaves in vilambit kheyal. He focussed on the essence and the charm of the raga and did his best to spin magic in three octaves with his vistaars and taans. Previously, the city had heard him as a talented vocalist who supported his father. But Armaan is now ready to leave the mark of his own identity; he is an able successor of the Rampur-Sahaswan Gharana. He emulates his father’s technique of creating the perfect ambience for a particular raga with sparkling sargams and taans. Raga Megh was not an exception. The virtuosity continued in the drut kheyals. The generosity of his voice enchanted the audience, even though a little clarity in the movements of the notes was expected. Armaan also sang a thumri to conclude his presentation and left behind the promise of evolving into a more mature artist in his upcoming concerts.
Amaan Ali Khan [Source: Calcutta Classic Foundation]
Amaan Ali Khan and Kumar Bose graced the stage with the sarod and the tabla, respectively. Amaan started his recital with Raga Desh Malhar, the alaap generating a feeling of serenity in the listeners. Both Malhar and Desh have a sense of joviality, but Amaan did not settle for such a typical portrayal and, instead, found a core of calmness in the ragas. The alaap was followed by a jod and a jhala, and all of it was melodic and fulfilling. He played compositions set to jhamptaal in vilambit and brought out the exquisite nuances of the raga with long vistaars and taans. Kumar Bose’s mature, spontaneous and intelligent assistance gave the presentation a new dimension. They took time playing in a medium tempo and Amaan displayed his depth. Raga Desh Malhar flourished in the drut jhamptaal gat and Amaan’s usual high-speed, powerful taans left the audience absorbed in his performance.
Raga Nandkaus was Amaan’s next choice. As is his wont, he mesmerised the audience with his creativity in the alaap. The raga, created by the musicologist, Suresh Chandra Chakraborty, is close to his gharana and it found a new identity at the hands of Amaan. He played the gats composed by his father, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, and exceptionally enhanced his playful style while doing so. He was able to portray the essence of the raga with full clarity, rendering the teentaal compositions in a different tempo. The mellifluousity of his technique and his musical intellect were reflected in his tihais. The striking vistaars and taans in three octaves were followed by drut gats, which portrayed his insight and skill when it comes to improvising. Kumar Bose played in tune with Amaan; the two were seamless together.
The ragas were followed by a famous Rabindrasangeet, “Kon khela je khelbo kokhon”, which has been rendered on the sarod by Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, and a bhatiali. The rhythmscape at the conclusion of the event came as a peaceful shower at the end of a sensational night.
