Several musical stalwarts will pay their tribute on concluding day of the three-day annual NCPA festival.
“Mori gagariya kaahe ko phori (why have you broken my pot)?” sang a tonga driver on a cold December evening in Lucknow in the late 60s. His intrigued passenger asked him where he had picked it up from, adding, “What you’re singing is my grandfather Bindadin Maharaj’s thumri.”
Almost six decades later, that song will be among the thumris presented by the passenger, Birju Maharaj (himself a kathak legend), who will be performing at the fourth edition of the National Council for Performing Arts’ Bandish festival on Sunday.
“I try and sing at most of my concerts because some of these beautiful compositions strike me even as I’m presenting something in a similar emotion,” said Pt Birju Maharaj. “At the Bandish festival too, while the emphasis will be on the vocals, I will use stylised expressions with the hands and face to compliment the thumris. They are so beautiful, so steeped in rasa that no one can control themselves,” added the maestro who has sung for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas in the past.
Audiences will be in for a rare treat when Maharaj performs a brisk shaadra (sesh phan dag magayao), jhula (jhule radhe naval kishor) and ends with a bhairavi in biathak bhaav.
“I have learnt some of these from my gurus Lachchu Maharaj and Shambhu Maharaj but many were taught to me by my amma”. In most cultures, music is synonymous with ‘songs’ that are pre-composed. In Indian music, a well-structured melodic composition, often referred to as bandish or cheez, forms the core of performance. Thanks to the creative genius of many composers across several centuries, there are a vast range of compositions in existence today.
These works are kept alive through the oral-aural tradition and are integral to contemporary performing practices. Talat Aziz will present ghazals penned by revered poets Mirza (Ghalib) and Faiz Ahmad Faiz at the festival.
Malini Rajurkar will showcase works of celebrated vocalist, scholar and composer Shrikrishna Ratamjankar.
The performance is at Bandish, NCPA at 6.30 pm today.
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