UK-based santoor maestro strikes a chord

Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, January 16

City art lovers were treated to a rare musical delight during the Baithak Concert organised by the Pracheen Kala Kendra at ML Koser Auditorium here today.

The concert featured Tanzania-born and London-based santoor maestro Ustad Kiranpal Singh, a disciple of legendary Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma. He was accompanied by famous tabla maestro Ustad Akram Khan.

Ustad Kiranpal commenced the recital with delineation of ‘raga Yaman’ through an ‘alaap’, ‘jod alaap’ and ‘jod jhalla’. The audience was thrilled as he doled out ‘gats’ and traditional ‘bandishe’ in medium and fast paced tempo with mastery over the instrument. Later, he moved on to present popular ‘raga Khamaj’ with compositions in ‘madhya’ and ‘drut laya’ in ‘teen taal’. On demand, Kiranpal presented a ‘thumri’ before concluding his recital with a captivating ‘dhun’ in Pahari, followed by crisp ‘Dadra’ in ‘raga Bhairavi’.

Dr Samira Koser hosted the programme while Kendra registrar Shobha Koser and Secretary Sajal Koser honoured the artistes.