Khayaal-The band, blends east and west melodies

Sunday evening was enriching for the audience at Navrang Theatre at Bal Bhawan in Sector 23 here today, which witnessed scintillating performances by

Vinita Gupta

and her son Vinayak Gupta at a concert featuring classical fusion music. The concert was organised by

North Zone Cultural Centre

, Patiala.
The highlight of the day was 'Khayaal- The band' which presented a beautiful and unique blend of the traditional east and west through their music. Featuring Vinita Gupta, who is a well-known vocalist of the north, the performance left everyone spellbound as she sung in her melodious voice to win the hearts of the audience.
The band started their concert in a traditional way, with a composition in Raag Khamaj set to Teentaal, dedicated to Sri Ganesh, composed by the late Acharya Brahaspati. After which, beautiful compositions in Raag Yaman, Ahirbhairav, Surmalhar, Jog, Des and Malkauns followed.
Their original song ‘Tore bina piya’ which was nominated in the category of ‘Best Pop Artist’ for the Radio city Freedom 4 awards won a rousing applause from the audience. Vinita has learnt her art form from the late Dr. Sharayu Kalekar and Vidushi Sulochana Brahaspati of the Rampur Sadarang lineage, is a well-known artiste of the northern region. She is proficient not only in Khayal gayan, but also in semi classical forms such as

Thumri

and Bhajan. She has performed at various prestigious platforms across the country. She is also the Honorary Secretary of the prestigious Indian National Theatre (a society for the promotion of art and Indian culture) in Chandigarh, and has been actively involved in organizing various concerts and music appreciation courses with the society for the past decade.
Outside of her forte of Hindustani music, Vinita has worked on a fusion project along with her musician son Vinayak Gupta - (Delhi based music producer, composer and singer) and together they released an EP named ‘Inflections’, featuring some of the most well-known musicians from the Delhi music circuit.
Singing with the western chord arrangements would normally seem a challenge for an Indian classical vocalist, but Vinita sang effortlessly and won the hearts of audience. Her renditions of the traditional 'khayaals' and Sufi compositions were remarkable. Vinayak also joined Vinita in a couple of raagas, and proved his mettle not only in playing the keyboard, but also in singing. Their original composition 'Tore bin piya' and his rendition of 'Mora saiyan' and 'aaoge jab tum' were highly appreciated.