A musical tribute to singer Kishori Amonkar in the capital

It was an evening dedicated to music when Spic Macay, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) and New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) organized an event in the memory of Kishori Amonkar, one of the renowned classical singers who passed away in April, at Nehru Park recently. The event was named after one of her famous compositions – Mharo Pranam. A tribute to Kishori taiNandini Bedekar and Raghunandan Panshikar, Kishori's senior disciples, paid tribute to their teacher by performing at the event. Popularly referred to as Kishori tai, her last performance was at the same venue in October last year. An audio of her last recording was also played at the event. Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, accompanied by his wife Subhalakshmi, was also present to pay his tributes. Among other guests present at the event were NK Singh, Pt Rajan and Sajan Mishra and Sachidanand Joshi. Thumri queen Girija Devi paid a special tribute to the late singer through her bhajans.NK Singh, with wife Prem Kumari Singh (BCCL/ Ranjit Kumar)Making an exceptionPaying her tributes to Kishori, Girija Devi said, "Main kabhi apne se chhoton ko iss tarah se tribute nahi deti, par Kishori ke liye main mana nahi kar payi. I always pray to God asking for peace for her soul. Agar main 72 ghante bhi Kishori ke bare mein baatein karun, toh bhi baaton ke liye samay kam pad jayega. She was a bit tough in nature, but she was ultimately soft at heart. Woh bandhan mein rehne wali ladki nahi thi."Girija Devi, who doesn't pay tribute to younger singers, made an exception for Kishori AmonkarShe was my sisterAmjad Ali Khan said, "She was like an elder sister to me. Jab bhi shastriya sangeet ki baat aati hai, unke gharane ka zikr hamesha aata hai. Gharanon ko lekar ladai jhagde aksar hua karte hain. She was an institution in herself, aur unhone Jaipur gharane ko apna ek chola pehnaya tha. Unhone apni ek chhaap chhor di." While Kishori tai belonged to Jaipur gharana, Ustad Amjad Ali is from Gwalior gharana and Girija Devi belongs to Banaras gharana. The latter had a close musical association with the late singer.Sunit Tandon and Rashmi MalikOne of the senior disciples of Kishori Amonkar, Nandini Bedekar, paid an emotional tribute her guru (BCCL/ Ranjit Kumar)(L-R) Sajan Mishra--Richa.Sharma1@timesgroup.com