7-hour treat in Carnatic & Hindustani styles at Sawai’s opening day

Pune: Carnatic violinist L Subramaniam and his son Ambi unleashed a composition in five-and-three-quarters beats in raga Nasikabhushani. And when a couple of security guards clapped to the beats along the way, it made for a perfect picture – listeners not knowing the grammar behind the art but still enjoying it.
Of course, the deep sense of rhythm ingrained in any Carnatic style of music contributed to it.
The duo earlier presented Ragam Tanam Pallavi in the same raga after staring with raga Abhogi on the first day of Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav at Maharashtriya Mandal ground in Mukundnagar on Wednesday.
Subramaniam was well supported by Tanmay Bose on the tabla and Radhakrishan on the ghatam among others as intricate patterns in different octaves were woven with elan.
Ajoy Chakrabarty, senior vocalist of Patiala Gharana, concluded the day with heartfelt renditions of raga Bihag and thumri in raga Khamaj and Pilu.
Referring to ‘Birah Bhaav' in raga Bihag, he explored the melody in an unhurried way. There were no pyrotechniques, just presenting different patterns within the raga value and taking them to the sign line of the composition in a soulful way.
Ajay Joglekar on the harmonium and Shrikalyan Chakravarthy on the tabla were a perfect foil.
Earlier, Ram Deshpande could not have chosen a more apt slow-tempo composition to explore the twilight raga Shri to deliver "Zagmag Gyaan Jyot Jagaave" with Ajinkya Joshi on the tabla and Milind Kulkarni on the harmonium.
Fiftysix-year-old Deshpande, a disciple of Yashwantbuwa Joshi and Ulhas Kashalkar, handled the raga with aplomb __ underlining the knowledge he has attained about one of the basic six ragas of the North Indian classical system. To top it, it was in a 16-beat tilwada taal, making a sizeable crowd merge in its gripping laya.
Starting with a short, nom-tom like alaap, he brought the evocative flavour of the raga to the fore. Raga Shri was fitting for the winter evening.
The other two compositions that Deshpande recited in the same raga "Saanjh Bhayee" (ek taal) and "Kaali Maata Bhavani" (teen taal) were attractive too. He also unfurled two compositions in raga ‘Rageshri-Bahar', including one in a seven-beat Roopak taal and a Sant Ramdas abhang. But in trying to pack everything within an hour, the overall impact could not be felt by connoisseurs.
The day started with a shehnai duet from S Ballesh and Krishna Ballesh. They brought the devotional canvas to raga Madhuvanti. It was short, sweet, crafty and to the point. They also interplayed with the lyrical passages of the antara.
Debutante Shashwati Chavan-Zurunge, disciple of Ustad Mubrak Ali Khan and Sudhakar Chavan, gave a good account of herself in raga Multani. The interplay of Komal Gandhar and Komal Dhaiwat in the slow composition and the way she combined these two notes with Teevra Madhyam during the faster composition was noteworthy. Tabla accompanist Kartik Swamy had some noteworthy moments.
Though she displayed her sparkle with aakaar and tried to win the audience over with the use of sargam, the overall structure of presentation was a bit haphazard and lacked fluidity.