Understanding music

The musical evening witnessed the gracious presence of Vinayak Torvi and Hashamat Ali Khan. They discussed the core of their music and the tradition and heritage they are attached with. Famous art critic Manjari Sinha interviewed the artist about the various dimensions of their music.

The first concert of the evening began with the soothing Rag Poorvi performed by the Vinayak Torvi. After the performance he discussed about the various do and don’ts that a music student must follow. 

When asked about what a music learner should concentrate on, Torvi said, “A student should focus on his/her natural voice instead of voice modulation. They should sing in their usual tone.” He also suggested that one should not listen to other gharanas in learning stage. “Focus on single gharana. It enables you to know what you need to learn and what you should not. Move slowly learning step by step,” he added.  Torvi believes in guru-shishya tradition. “It is very hard to find a teacher who will understand your need. Respect your guru. It is one of the enduring traditions of classical music.”

In the second concenrt of the evening, senior Tabla maestro Hashmat Ali Khan prformed with his son Akaram Khan, and grandson Zargham Akram Khan. He performed various laggi on tabala and discussed about them in detail. According to him, the one who knows how to land pat on the beat and plays with the tune understands the core of formal music. Later at the end of the event film director Rakesh Srivastva and Secretary of Sangeet Natak Akademi, Rita Swami Chaudhary felicitated the artists.