Night out with the legends
21 Jun 2012 2:14 AM GMT
Wondering how to celebrate World Music day on 21 June? A musical evening, Shardhanjali, is being organised to commemorate music legends Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Bhupen Hazarika, Mehdi Hassan, Jagjit Singh and Suchitra Mitra who all passed away last year.
‘No one can learn music without listening to them. I will perform a song which talks about life as a journey and how every individual has to succumb to death,’ said singer Manu Bhardwaj.
‘The second song is about the difficulty of forgetting their fond memories,’ he said. ‘When I brought Abba Huzur (Mehdi Hassan) to India for the first time in April 2000, the weather was stormy. We were to perform at Ludhiana but the set was destroyed by a storm on the first day and had to be remade the next day,’ Bhardwaj added.
‘The storm was just beginning when Abba Huzur began with an alaap. The minute he began, the storm abated and the sky cleared and remained so till the minute he stopped singing. When we went to Chandigarh, it was pouring cats and dogs everywhere but it was not raining on the venue of Abba Huzur’s performance. This was a miracle and inspired me to become a professional singer,’ he added.
‘Pandit Bhimsen Joshi’s music has taught me a lot. The way he used taans, alaaps and bandishein astonishes me. The beauty of his music inspires me to create something,’ adds classical singer Rachita Arora.
‘I have a lot of new compositions but will play classical music. For me it is the best way to commemorate classical legends,’ said violinist Anupriya Deotale.
‘I have learned to add soulfulness in my music from Jagjit Singh. He not only pays attention to the lyrics but is also aware of the technicalities of every instrument and knows how to sync every instrument with lyrics,’ said Deotale.
Fareed Hasan will be performing a thumri. ‘Their music will always remain alive in my memories,’ said Hasan.
‘In the West, music is a source of entertainment. But Indian music is devotional. Jagjit Singh and Mehdi Hassan have used raga as the base for ghazals and geet,’ said Hasan.
DETAILS
At: Sri Sathya International Auditorium, Lodhi Road
When: 21 June
‘No one can learn music without listening to them. I will perform a song which talks about life as a journey and how every individual has to succumb to death,’ said singer Manu Bhardwaj.
‘The second song is about the difficulty of forgetting their fond memories,’ he said. ‘When I brought Abba Huzur (Mehdi Hassan) to India for the first time in April 2000, the weather was stormy. We were to perform at Ludhiana but the set was destroyed by a storm on the first day and had to be remade the next day,’ Bhardwaj added.
‘The storm was just beginning when Abba Huzur began with an alaap. The minute he began, the storm abated and the sky cleared and remained so till the minute he stopped singing. When we went to Chandigarh, it was pouring cats and dogs everywhere but it was not raining on the venue of Abba Huzur’s performance. This was a miracle and inspired me to become a professional singer,’ he added.
‘Pandit Bhimsen Joshi’s music has taught me a lot. The way he used taans, alaaps and bandishein astonishes me. The beauty of his music inspires me to create something,’ adds classical singer Rachita Arora.
‘I have a lot of new compositions but will play classical music. For me it is the best way to commemorate classical legends,’ said violinist Anupriya Deotale.
‘I have learned to add soulfulness in my music from Jagjit Singh. He not only pays attention to the lyrics but is also aware of the technicalities of every instrument and knows how to sync every instrument with lyrics,’ said Deotale.
Fareed Hasan will be performing a thumri. ‘Their music will always remain alive in my memories,’ said Hasan.
‘In the West, music is a source of entertainment. But Indian music is devotional. Jagjit Singh and Mehdi Hassan have used raga as the base for ghazals and geet,’ said Hasan.
DETAILS
At: Sri Sathya International Auditorium, Lodhi Road
When: 21 June
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