Taufiq-Yogesh jugalbandi has audience swooning

Pt Ajay Chkravarti has acquired skills of performing from various gharanas. Be it khayal, thumari, gazal or carnatic music, he performs it all with panache. A skillful performer who easily exhibits the artistic values of music, Ajay possesses a robust voice and is a melodious and enchanting vocalist of the present generation.
He began with a khayal in raag Bhairavi, a rarity amongst music concerts.He elaborated all facets of the raga with different rhythms. "Karam karo more sai" was sung in slow ektaal. Raga Bhairavi offers possibility of using all the twelve notes. This enables a musician to express desire, love and pathos in poetic compositions. This was delineated well with compositions "Baat chalat nahi chunari ranga dari," "Aaj radha brija ko chali" and many more. He elucidated the compositions with clear diction and stress on aesthetics. He concluded the rendition with a devotional piece "Moko kanha dhundhe bande" which enthralled the audience.
The evening session began with a khayal in raag Madhuvanti by brothers, Ritesh and Rajneesh. It was a thorough exposition of the melody for an hour.
This was followed by an excellent performance on sitar by Ustad Shahid Pavezkhan, who is one of the best exponents of Itava gharana. He began with a pleasing alap, jod and jhala in raag Yaman. He played several compositions to exhibit the skills of playing sitar and the form and mood of Yaman. He concluded with a composition in a very fast rhythm. Both Shahid and Sanjay, who gave tabla support, complemented each other's skills.
The morning session started with an enjoyable duet between Shri Salil Bhatt on satvik veena and Ankit on sitar. They combined well to evolve the mood and structure of the raag Natbhairav. They played scintillating taan patterns on their instruments and concluded with jhala in fast tempo.
The Gundecha brothers, Umakant and Ramakant gave a solemn recital of raga Jaunpuri. After the alap, jod and gamaks in the raga, they sang a composition in Dhamar and concluded with a Sultaal composition in raag Komal Rishabh Aasavari.
Ustad Ikbal Ahmedkhan gave an entertaining performance of raag Jogkaunsa. He concluded with enjoyable Dadra, "Bahut din bite piya nahi aaye". Shri Prithviraj Mishra gave thrilling a tabla solo in Benaras tradition. He played tritaal exhibiting knowledge acquired from the gurus. Shri Taufiq Qureshi and Yogesh Samsi combined well on drums and tabla respectively to play Shikhar taal of seventeen beats and Aaditaal of sixteen beats.