With good fortune we were able to attend the 37th Annual Dhrupad Mela in Varanasi, India. An exceptional line up appeared for four nights, blissfully resounding the banks of the river Ganges with the mystical sound of Dhrupad. From 8pm till dawn the music was mellifluous and profound with many artists achieving the highest pinnacles of perfection in sound and music, allowing us to enter into transcendental states.

There is really nothing quite like the magical ambiance of sitting beside the sacred river Ganga all night long, diving deep into the subtle currents of sound that only Dhrupad reveal.  Varanasi is the oldest living city in the world and in itself it is a mystical, holy city full of the echoes of devotional prayers of devotees and holy men from across India and the world.

This is the dwelling place of Shiva, who is known also by his ancient name, “Rudra“. In Banaras there is a popular saying, “Kashi ke kankar Shiva Shankar hain”, -”The very stones of Kashi are Shiva.” Shiva dwells not only in the city’s great temples, but in the very ground and substance of the place itself.

Wonderful Musicians from all over India performed at the program.  So many musicians give their time for the love of Dhrupad at this free festival.  Notable artists were Prem Kumar Mallick, Saeed Uddin Dagar, Wasifuddin Dagar, The Mallick Brothers, Uday Bhawalkar and many more that you can see listed below on the line-up.  This year the festival moved from being a 3 to a 4 night festival.  On Shivratri night, the spiritual energy is palpable and each performance is charged with transcendental renderings of classical Raga and devotional Shiva songs.

(Many thanks to Disco Dom for some of the images which were taken from footage he shot.  We hope to share some clips on youtube once we return to UK.)

Artists at Dhrupad Mela, Varanasi, India.  2012

Vocalists except where indicated otherwise.

17th February 2012

• Wasifuddin Dagar
• Udav Sinde (pakhawaj)
• Ritwik Sanyal
• Ravindra Goswami (surbahar)
• Ms Ira Mukherjee
• Nishant Singh (pakhawaj)
• Brijbushan Goswami
• Sauravbrat Chakarborty (surbahar)
• Saket Maharaj (pakhawaj)

18th February 2012

• Ravi Shankar Udhapadhya (pakhawaj)
• Abhay Narayan Mallik
• Ms Kavery Kar
• Vinod Kumar Divedi
• Shukdev Chaturvedi
• Dalchand Sharma (pakhawaj)
• Ram Kumar and Shamti Kumar Mallik
• Suvir Mishra (rudra veena)
• Prashant and Nishant Mallik
• Indra Kishore Mishra
• Sudip Pal (pakhawaj)

19th February 2012

• Gwalior students ensemble
• Asit Kumar Banerjee (rudra veena)
• Falguni Mitra
• Aneesuddin and Nafeesuddin Dagar
• Ramji Lal Sharma (pakhawaj)
• Rajesh Sendh
• Ashik Shankar Mhatre (pakhawaj)
• Kailash Pavar
• Bhushan Ji (surbahar)
• Ms Sanchita Chaudhury
• Pushparaj Kosthi (surbahar)
• Jay Prakesh Pandey (pakhawaj)

20th February 2012

• Ritwik Sanyal students
• Vishal Jain
• Prem Kumar Mallick,
• Ramakant Pathak and students (pakhawaj)
• Saeed Uddin Dagar
• Deobrata Mishra (surbahar)
• Shivdas Chakravorty (sarod)
• Ms Madhu Bhatt Tailang
• Uday Bhawalkar
• Arun Bhattacharya
• Bhaktiraj & Ruturaj Bhosle (pakhawaj)
• Savan Mukhopadyay

Thanks to Ragamala @ http://forums.chandrakantha.com for the listing.

Dover Lane Music Conference is the longest running annual Indian Classical Music festival in Kolkata and possibly whole of India.  This year the festival is dedicated to Swami Vivekananda on his 150th Birth Anniversary.  The line-up for the 60th Dover Lane Music Conference in Kolkata has been announced and it is, as always, something special.  It promises another 5 nights offering some of the Best of Indian Classical Vocal, Tabla, Pakhawaj, Sitar, Shenai, Violin, Rudra Veena, Bansuri, Sarod and Harmonium performances from an all-star host of performers.

Each program begins at 8pm and continues through the night.  Its a wonderful experience, to sit with thousands of others, opening ones heart to the subtle and stirring magic of India Classical Music.  As the evening gives way to night and night gives way to early morning, the Ragas mellifluously flow from one into another, often in accordance with the sections of the day.  The festival Read more

Bharatiya Sangeet Sadan presents Swami Haridas-Tansen Sangeet

The old masters of the arts are so called for good reason. Their ability to demonstrate their skill or craft is undoubted, so in the case of musicians this leaves us with one option; to be enchanted, enthralled and enraptured as they weave their dazzling tapestries of song and musical joy.  In Delhi, the 3 day program Swami Haridas-Tansen Sangeet took place at the Sri Sathya Sai international centre (Sai Auditorium).  The program featured eminent Vocalists and Instrumentalists of India’s main proponent of the Indian Classical Music traditions. Artists such as Zakir Hussain, Channulal Mishra, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Ashwini Bhide Deshpande & Shujaat Hussain Khan graced the event to weave a tapestry of magical music.

Channulal Mishra

To hear the magical tones of Channulal Mishra in the performance space, was a dream come true, as it was the first time I had the chance to enjoy this legendary singer although I had already been blessed enough to take a few music lessons with him in 2008.  To hear some of my favourite pieces performed live, in the magical spell of Sai Auditorium, with about 1500 other devoted attendees was such total magic.  He sang a variety of well known classics from his repertoire including a Mira bhai poem and a Hanuman Bhajan.  At the end everyone was crying for a the title track from the “Holi Ke Rang” album. This beautiful album was released by DEVI FOUNDATION which is a  not for profit organization was set up in New Delhi in 2003.   The Foundation’s leading objectives are the preservation and enhancement of the arts, and support to under privileged woman and children.

The unique level of sweetness that Channulal exhudes is beyond belief.  He has a unique tone in his voice that is so mellow, so purifying and so lively all at once. Soothing and energising in unison, a true celestial ceremony of Song.  Long may His musical magic continue to resound so beautifully.

Ashwini Bhide

Another legendary proponent of Indian Classical Music came to the stage the following day.  Her effortless perfection created a fluidity of space that opened up sonic vistas.  Time and space seemed to yield to her command as the complexities of sound were unveiled before our very ears!  We were all blissed beyond belief and the cares of the world seemed to melted away as the Taans opened up like a lotus blossom, revealing the very essence of Indian Classical Music.

Programme :
17th December 2010 :
Vinay Bharat-Ram – Vocal
Aashish Khan – Sarod
(S/o Ustad Ali Akbar Khan)
Zakir Hussain Khan – Tabla

18th December 2010:
Uma Sharma – Kathak
Channulal Mishra – Vocal
Mehmood Dholpuri – Harmonium
Vishwa Mohan Bhatt – Mohan Veena

19th December 2010:
Alam Khan – Sarod
(S/o Ustad Ali Akbar Khan)
Ashwini Bhide Deshpande – Vocal
Shujaat Hussain Khan – Sitar

Bharitiya Sangeet, the arts & dance school which organises this event.

http://www.uma-sharma.com/bhartiya_sangeet_sadan.asp

Read more

We are pleased and delighted to share news of this recording with you from the Sangita Sounds Arkives. Sukhdev Mishra, eminent classical musician from the holy city of Varanasi, features here on this Indian Classical Music sampler.  During his UK tour Sukhdev made time to share a selection of short, Raga influenced pieces with us at Sangita Studio. On this recording, small excerpts from different Ragas were played in order to give a taste of the variety of moods available from different Ragas.

Listen to the complete album here in our player or download and enjoy.

www.sangitasounds.bandcamp.com

Recorded by Darren Sangita @ Sangita Studio

Produced by Darren Sangita & Mathura Das.

Special thanks to Katinka Ji.