Amidst incessant rain, 149th Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan kicks off with rousing Shehnai strains

The 149th Shree Baba Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan got off to a rousing start amidst the strains of Shehnai, rousing Dhrupad, Harmonium jugalbandi and vocals at the Shree Ram Hall, on the premises of the Shri Devi Talab Mandir in Jalandhar on a rainy evening on Friday.

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Marked usually by chilly and foggy winters every year, the opening day of the Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan this year witnessed incessant rainfall in Jalandhar all throughout the day which lowered temperatures by four notches and flooded the main pandal where the sammelan was scheduled to be held.

However, organisers moved the sammelan to the cosy Shri Ram Hall, which has been the chosen venue for many other Harivallabh events, similarly affected by rains on previous occasions too.

Artistes began their concert by an about two to three hours delay at the hall. Even amidst heavy rain a gathering of about a decent music lovers, though relatively thinner, turned up for the event and sat until late in the night to hear recital of music with various instruments.

The festival started with the auspicious Shehnai strains in its first event, presented by Pt Rudresh Bhajantri, who was accompanied on the Swarmandal by Bhimsen Bhajantri, on Sur Shehnai by Shruti Bhajantri, and on Tabla, Saptak Sharma provided accompaniment and on Shehnai, Kapil Sharma lent support to the musician.

Classical music warmed up the atmosphere as recitals progressed. People sipped tea and savoured eatables from a few stalls still open, while a congregation of avid music lovers, nodded their heads to recitals by artistes in the compact hall.

Organisers said depending on the weather, the venue would later be shifted back to the main open pandal, as the skies cleared.

The Shehnai recital was followed by a tabla recital from last year’s music competition winner Koustubh Dhar. Until 9.40 pm (the time of filing this report), only first two recitals of the five artistes lined were held.

The line up for the evening included Dhrupad recital by Darbhanga Senia tradition’s young Dhrupad virtuosos Pt Prashant and Nishant Mallick, Harmonium Jugalbandi by Pt Sudhanshu and Pt Sarang Kulkarni and vocals by Sonal Shivkumar.

Before the day’s recitals, the previous three days at the Harivallabh were preceded by Sangeet Pratiyogitas which showcased the classical music, percussion, non-percussion and vocal music talents of young and budding artistes who had come from across the country.

Rain brings down temp

by 4 notches in district

As it rained for the whole day on Friday in the region, the maximum temperature of the day fell down by four notches. While it was sunny yesterday and the maximum temperature remained around 19°Celsius, it fell to 15°Celsius on Friday.

People had a tough time commuting for work and many chose not to venture out to avoid being drenched. Since it was perhaps the coldest day so far in this season, people took out warmer clothes including mufflers, caps and thicker jackets. Tea stall owners and cafes in the city did a brisk business as there dealt with more customers today.