Kathak to be part of Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan

Aakanksha N Bhardwaj

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, December 25

During the 144th edition of Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan, kathak performance will be part of it, which will be held from December 27 to 29.

Deepak Bali, general secretary of the event, said a group of artistes would perform kathak with a guitar and tabla. “In all these years, kathak has never been part of the festival. This time, we have included it. We will introduce kathak in future editions if people will like it,” he added.

Rakesh Dada, who was earlier associated with the Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan committee, said Pt Bhim Sen Joshi, a great Indian vocalist, first learnt music in the city only.

“He came here at a very young age and Pt Mangat Ram, who used to perform at the sammelan, became his guru,” Dada had earlier said while talking to this correspondent. He has also written a book on the history of the sammelan.

Pt Joshi used to sit behind the singers with Tanpura and used to say that this would help them learn music.

Dada said, “Pt Tolo Ram, who was a devoted disciple of Baba Harivallabh, did not allow Pt Joshi to sing despite his requests as he used to say that his voice was not fine to sing at the sammelan. He used to sit at the samadhi of Baba Harivallabh and sing there. After that, Pt Joshi became a frequent performer during the sammelan and his voice became unparalleled. His bhajan ‘Jo Bhaje Hari Ko Sada’ became a huge hit among the audience.”

DV Paluskar, son of Pt Vishnu Digambar, also gave his maiden performance on the stage at the age of 14.

Dada said Amjad Ali Khan, a famous Sarod player, first performed here in 1964-65 and hogged the limelight in the world. Vocalists Azakat Ali Khan and Salamat Ali Khan were also among the legends who gave their life’s first performances here.

Famous writer Suresh Seth, who was Jagjit Singh’s close associate, had once said the ghazal maestro had a dream of performing at the world’s oldest music festival, which never came true.

Artistes enthral connoisseurs

Shree Baba Harivallabh Sangeet Pratiyogita entered its second day today with artistes in junior and senior category playing non-percussion instruments. The hall remained packed with music lovers. They said they had been coming to listen to young upcoming talent for years.

Vinod Kumar, a government employee, said that every year, said he attended Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan and music competition. “I feel so blessed coming here. Being in Jalandhar, I have a great chance every year to listen to veteran artistes and the young talent,” he said.