Call to India’s faithful

AHMEDABAD: At Saptak, devotion comes in the form of sound that breaches all barriers — language, religion, and identity. In 2011, early into the ninth day of Saptak, sarangi virtuoso Ustad Sultan Khan sang “Mharo pranaam Banke Bihari”, offering tribute to Lord Krishna. The day ended with Begum Parveen Sultana presenting her signature work, “Bhavani dayani”, an invocation to Shakti set to Raga Bhairavi.
No follower of Hindustani musicwillbesurprisedthat an ustad and a begum gave voice to the faithful who want to send decorous entreaties to Lord Krishna and Shakti. But the rest of the world needs constant reminder of that affirming possibility.
And Saptak is that yearly reiteration, playing out across 13 days. In the 2018 edition of the festival, on Friday, Begum Parveen Sultana reprised “Bhavani dayani”. For Ahmedabad rasikas it is a beloved ritual, a chant that upholds the humanity of art.
And her art, for its own sake, was a grand herald of the final day of the festival, Saturday.
“Begum Parveen Sultana began with Raga Jog,” Manju Mehta, the Saptak custodian, told TOI. “She also rendered Khamaj. I felt her improvisations in Khamaj, in the thumri style, was wonderful.”