Rasikas were in for a treat at Dhrupad Utsav finale

The

Patodia Auditorium

in Banjara Hills was packed with music connoisseurs as it hosted the finale of the much-talked-about three-day

Dhrupad Utsav

on Sunday.

Organised by Dhrupad Sansthan and Dhruap Gurukulam to popularise the ancient genre of music in the city, the evening commenced with

Murali Mohan Gowda

and

Heikel Ben Mlouka

’s rendition of raag Gange Bhushan. A rare raag taken from Carnatic and popularised in Hindustani classical sphere by Ustad Mohiuddin Dagar, Murali and Heikal effortlessly delved into the intricacies of the composition and were ably accompanied by Deepak Tiwari and Nirupama on the pakhwaj and tanpura respectively. Next to take on the stage was

Amita Sinha Mahapatra

. Her performance was seen as a breakaway from the notion that Dhrupad is a masculine art form and its gamak and taans require manly vigour. Throughout her performance, there was pin drop silence in the auditorium as the audience listened in rapt attention and appreciated her rendition with roaring applause as she finished.

The festival concluded with the much-anticipated performance by

Gundecha Brothers

. Umakant and Ramakant Gundecha, stalwarts of the genre, brought to the fore all the nuances of this ancient art form in raag Saraswati. Their artistry over layakari and taankari was a treat to the rasikas.

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