149th Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan ends with flower showers at dawn

Bathing the last performers in a sea of auspicious marigold flowers is an extraordinary ritual of yore at the Harivallabh, called the “Pushp Varsha” (flower shower), the 149th Shree Baba Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan ended at 3.55 am on Monday dot on a foggy, heavy morning today as a congregation of faithful listeners sat up in a heated pandal until the first light of morning to savour the delights of Hindustani classical music. As the orange light from the samadhi (tomb) of Baba Harivallabh on the Devi Talab Mandir premises, cast a soft glow on the sleepy temple sarovar’s marble banks, the listeners brought the sammelan to a close, raining marigold petals onto the closing act of the three-day festival —vocal rendition in Raga Bahar by artists Pt Prabhakar Kashyap and Pt Diwakar Kashyap, accompanied by the city’s own talented tabla prodigy Jaidev.

While the rainy first day at the Harivallabh may have raised concerns with its sparse audience and semi-flooded outwards pandal area, the last two days more than made up for it with the ardent, doting audience tarrying till the late hours to savour just one more classical delight. Performances cast the old Harivallabh magic, which makes people stop in their tracks and sit a little more, until the hours pass.

Pt Abhishek Mishra (tabla) and Pt Peravali Jaya Bhaskar’s (Mridangam) jugalbandi, to the accompaniment of Vinayak Sahi's sarangi and G Raghavendra Prasad’s violin, created a moment on Day 2, from when onward, the pandal just kept filling up — with more curious visitors streaming in slowly, to see what the heady Mridangam’s booming beats were all about.

Pt Abhishek Mishra's Benares Gahrana ‘uthan’, ‘visthar’ and ‘Sawais’ charmed the audience. For some reason (it may be the presence of booming tabla schools and their disciples in Jalandhar or the Namdharis’ renowned fondness for percussion greats and their styles), the Harivallabh pandals are all the more watchful and tuned in to the brilliance of rhythm.

Harivallabh’s applauding audience, which lets out a collective sigh at the sams, responded in all its glory. Ankita Joshi’s vivid taans brought the day to a close.

The following day, Chaitanya Sharma’s violin strains and Rushikesh’s engaging Pakhawaj — last year’s contest winners — set a fitting start to the evening.

There couldn’t have been a better outing next, than Adnan Khan’s sweet, meandering, river-flowing sitar, to herald the magic which was to follow for the evening.

Dhananjay Joshi’s evocative vocals warmed up the pandal in their lacy, mellow sounds (Madhav Limaye accompanied him on harmonium, Pt Prashant Gajre on tabla and and Mihir Joshi on vocal support).

Pt Tejendra Narayan Majumdar’s Senia-Maihar Gharana sarod, questioning and answering to Pt Arvind Kumar Azad’s Benares Gharana tabla --- brought in the grace and delight of a penultimate Harivallabh bonanza. Pt Majumdar’s Darbari Kanhada alaps laced with sinous “meendhs” and deft gayaki ang intricacies, followed by the Maihar Gharana’s signature Raga Zila Kafi got heads nodding into a warm musical trance.

The Harivallabh came to a dramatic close with the rousing vocals of Pt Prabhakar Kashyap and Pt Diwakar Kashyap. Their choicest bandish (from Jalandhar’s own Pt Shankar Lal Mishra), tappas and divine brilliance, laced with a million intricate vocal nuances brought the Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan this year to a close with the aroma of flowers adding subtle nuances to the in the dawn.