CHENNAI: At a special evening of music organised by Manabendra Smaraney, a select set of aficionados of Hindustani music had the opportunity to listen to a two-hour concert by Kaushiki Chakraborty and Parthasarathy Desikan.Manabendra Smaraney was originally set up to preserve and propagate the compositions of legendary singer Manabendra Mukherjee, and to promote classical music through film songs based on ragas. SN Bhatt, president of the organisation spoke of the divinity of music. He said, “It has the ability to transform the world and bring peace and harmony.” Chakraborty, renowned for her ‘runaway thaan’ and her musical grooming, began the evening’s performance with a song on Lord Ganesh in raag Hamsadhwani, regaling the audience with her flexible, resonant voice and impressive range. Daughter of acclaimed singer Ajoy Chakraborty, the singer, who has to her credit several albums and many performances the world over, exhibited her skill and mastery with ease.Desikan went on to sing a traditional composition, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan’s tarana in raag Bhageshri in Jhap Taal, followed by a composition in Theen Thaal. Blessed with a velvety voice, this ‘boy wonder’ has dabbled in several genres of music and is a widely-travelled classical musician, widely touted the torchbearer of the Patiala gharana. Chakraborty went on to sing a tarana in raag Yaman Kalyan followed by legendary musician Balamurali Krishna’s famous thillana in Kalyani, rendered with energy, remaining true to the idiom.Desikan sang the poignant Tulsidas bhajan Ban Chale Ram Raghuraai, a touching lyric which describes Lord Ram’s departure for exile with his dutiful wife and faithful brother, and how Dasharath loses himself pining for his beloved son (Ram ram karte Dashrath ne apni jaan ganvaayi). This was followed by a thumri in raag Mishra Maand, titled More Saiyyan Bedardi by Chakraborty.While the couple do not usually sing together, (each sings at a different scale) they sang several bandishes, first alternately and then together in different taals, all in one raga, Yaman. Afterwards, they presented a beautiful bandish in raag Kafi, with sensitivity and subtle intricacies, while the final melody for the evening was a Tagore composition.The artistes were accompanied by Gaurav Chatterjee on the harmonium, who ably supported the singers, and Sandeep Ghosh on the tabla, whose enthusiasm, layakari and dexterity added to the beauty of the evening.
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