*Kala
Chhaya presents"URJA" a Percussion Ensemble led by Bharat
Jangam.Click on
An Israeli woman singing bhajan. A strapping youth dancing with columns of fire. The transient visuals etched in space by dancers, segueing into a tempestuous point-counterpoint between flute and percussion. The primordial sound of a drum ensemble. An enchanting bhajan in Bhairavi, the clear notes of which swirled and meandered under a balmy sky.
On Thu, Oct 14th these were the memories and images carried those at the
quaint outdoor auditorium of Kalachaaya at Patrakar Nagar. The event was
set on roll with felicitation of Dr. Dan Berman, President of the East
- West Cultural Center Alumni Association at the University of Hawaii.
Dr. Berman, an Indophile, had lived in Pune many years ago and was visiting
to spread the gospel of the East-West Cultural Center and meet up with
his old friends. Prabha Marathe having been a dear friend of Dr. Berman
over the years, and knowing his love for all things Indian took upon herself
to organize a performance that would be in the spirit of a global celebration
of Navratri.
So it was that a diverse group of musicians, many of them students of
Prabha Marathe and Bharat Jangam, took to the stage. Being the first night
of Navratri, a gondhal with fire dancers was performed by Dada Pasalkar
and friends, after which Milind struck the first notes of Hamsadwhani,
with Jayant on guitar and Sanjeev on bass, Uday on tabla, Adam on drums,
Josh on framed drums and Yogesh on pakhwaj. As this motley group got into
their groove, the crowd was getting into the act and was encouraging them
by keeping time with them. Shani, the singer from Israel who is in Pune
learning Kathak, lit up the crowd a couple of Israeli folk songs, after
which Milind got into the act with a rendition of Charukeshi. The progression
of musical items was punctuated by a Kathak performance by Rashmi and
Deepa. A lady sitting on the front row told me after the performance that
she could not believe that human feet could move so gracefully at high
speed!
Uday is known to Punekars as a tabla virtuoso, but he also chose to display
his composition skills with a bhajan in Yaman Kalyan, with amazing vocal
support from Shani. It was then the time for sound and fury and Bharatji
kicked off the percussion performance with a theka on the nagara, after
which Uday on tabla, Josh on framed drums, and Adam on drums, and Yogesh
on pakhwaj displayed their mastery.
The evening came to close with a bhajan in Bharavi by sung Shubhangiji
with Pt. Shahapurkar on harmonium and Bharatji on tabla.