Satvik Veena maestro lights up live concert

Chandigarh, November 21

A selective audience of music aficionados were treated to a soulful and mesmerising spell of classical music at a live concert, ‘Springs of Desert’, organised by Pracheen Kala Kendra at its ML Koser Indoor Auditorium here today.

The welcome live concert, which happened after a hiatus of eight months due to the pandemic, was led by world trotting Satvik Veena maestro Tantshree Samrat Pandit Salil Bhatt with Abhishek Mishra on ‘tabla’ and Ustad Kutla Khan on ‘khartal’. The highlight of the concert was a veritable mix of classical and Rajasthani folk music, which gave the magnificence of both traditions.

Pandit Salil Bhatt bared the melodic character of raga “Vishwa Kauns” invented by him and dedicated to his guru and father Padma Bhushan Pandit Vishwamohan Bhatt – the illustrious Mohan Veena maestro and Grammy award winner. He explained the unique formation of raga, which differentiates it from the similarity of raga Jog Kauns and raga Malkauns.

Salil began with an elaborate alaap, which melted into the slow paced composition ‘Vilambat gat’ and later the fast-paced ‘Drut gat’ set to teen tal of 16 beats. The audience relished the Rajasthani folk music compositions weaved in classical presentations such as ‘Balam ji Mhara’ in raga Desh, ‘Hichki’ in raga Kirwani and more raga Jog and Bhopali. Versatile young percussion maestro Abhishek Mishra and Ustad Kutla Khan articulated the Satvik Veena melodies on tabla and khartal, respectively.

Chief guest Guru Sushil Jain honoured the artistes while Sajal Koser expressed gratitude to the audience and apologies to those who could not be entertained due to safety measures. — TNS