On Day 2 of Sawai Gandharva, a ‘Mozart’, a torchbearer and a doyen create magic

Exploring the entire range of Multani, he followed it up with the energetic drut teen-taal bandish Dil bekarar hain originally composed by his grandfather Kumar Gandharva, in which he enunciated the concern of a mother who is restless because it is evening and her child hasn’t returned home yet. For the second half, he chose the composition Lade bigde in raag Nandkedar, before concluding with a traditional Maalwa composition rediscovered by his father Pandit Mukul Shivputra.

With a voice that reminded one of his father, and a technique of stirring up a fresh combination of notes every now and then reminiscent of Kumar Gandharva, the young artiste received thunderous applause at the end of his performance.

In her introduction before the performance, the second artiste of the day was called the ‘Mozart of South Asia’. The winner of 2017’s Sangeet Natak Academy Award, Kala Ramnath, who graced the stage with her ‘singing violin’, lived up to the description.

An Indian classical violinist from the Mewati gharana whose album, Miles to India, won a Grammy nomination, the artiste chose Shyam Kalyan, an evening raag of the Kalyan family.

Striking up an awe-inspiring jugalbandi with Pandit Vijay Shamsi on the tabla, they gradually launched into a full fledged sawaal jawaab. Returning to the Sawai stage after 12 years, Ramnath made every minute count, as the audience kept on applauding, and a wave of waah was heard as she hit the high notes with practiced ease.

To end her mesmerising performance, she responded to the audience’s demand and chose a semi-classical kajri dhun.

The next artiste was Kaushiki Chakraborty, a torchbearer of the Patiala Gharana tradition, and daughter of Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty. She is known for her repertoire that covers khayals and thumris in light classical style. In the hours leading up to her performance, she had kept her fans engaged with a steady banter on Twitter. Her Twitter followers had tried to guess, as well as gave suggestions, about the raag of her choice for the Sawai stage.

She kept the audience guessing till the last minute, when the first chord was struck, and the melody of raag maaru bihaag filled the arena. As she launched into the bandish of her choice, Ratiya mitwaa mai kaise au tere paas, she showcased the range, power and sensuousness of her voice. Her voice spiralled with amazing speed, slowing down at certain junctures to emphasise the nuances, and subtly interacting with Satyajit Talwalkar on tabla. Next came a jhap-taal bandish in raag Bageshri, a night raag: Yaad karo dhyan dharo Mata Saraswati.

Not shying away from complicated taans through which she explored the vast expanse of the raag, Chakraborty’s gayaki was intense. But it was a thumri Yaad piyaa ki aayi… that she chose as her closing song, which prompted audience members to give her a standing ovation.

Saving the best for the last, the night concluded with the doyen of Mewati gharana, Pandit Jasraj, performing at the mahostav. The octogenerian musician, who had other artistes touching his feet to seek blessings as he climbed on to the stage, greeted the audience with his customary Jai Ho.

When the maestro sung the first note of the Lord Krishna shlok, Mangalam Bhagwan Vishnu, those who were standing immediately sat down, and most closed their eyes to let his voice sink in, as the second day of Sawai festival drew to a close.