What attracts musicians to Goa in September?

Come September, and it’s time once more for Shounak Abhisheki to return to his native Goa to have fun his father and guru Pt. Jitendra Abhisheki’s beginning anniversary (September 21 is his 93rd anniversary) with a music pageant. One of the vital prolific and in style composer-musicians of our time, Pt. Jitendra Abhisheki has not solely left behind worthy disciples, who’ve stored his cherished fashion alive, but additionally a treasure trove of wealthy compositions.

From the veteran Pt. Prabhakar Karekar to Devaki Pandit, he skilled many college students within the guru-sishya parampara, and at no cost. “He put us by a tricky routine. We awakened at 3.45 a.m. to the sound of my father’s riyaaz in kharaj (decrease octave),” recollects Shounak, whose mom made him realise the significance of his musical inheritance.

The household’s hyperlink with Goa stays sturdy; their ancestral house is Mangeshi. Historically clergymen, they have been entitled to do abhishek on the Shiva temple there, and thus got the honorific ‘abhisheki’.

Shounak Abhisheki.
| Picture Credit score: Particular Association

Initially, Shounak skilled beneath his father’s college students, Pt. Raja Kale, and Pt. Sudhakar Devale. “They made me be taught a number of bandishes by coronary heart. By the age of 10, I didn’t know what the ragas have been, however I knew the compositions. After that I skilled beneath Kamal Tambe, a senior scholar of Mogubai Kurdikar, who strengthened my basis. At the moment, my father used to journey for greater than 20 days a month. After I was round 15, I began studying from my father, and in addition travelled with him.”

One admires the sense of proportion in Shounak’s singing. At a live performance in Delhi, he regaled the viewers with a number of uncommon raags. “After I had learnt a raag, my father would inform me who I ought to hearken to singing it. I keep in mind after studying Abhogi, he instructed me to hearken to Pt. Bhimsen Joshi and Ustad Amir Khan’s variations. He taught me to be sincere with my music. His recommendation comes by superbly on this music: ‘Kahat man rang, aap vary bina, kaise vary koi’ (if you don’t drench youself within the hues of music, how are you going to make the viewers expertise it?).”

Remembering his coaching, Shounak says his father was a person of versatile pursuits. “He liked literature, portray and several other different artwork types. He inspired me to see the sweetness in them and incorporate that into my music. He used to say don’t simply admire portray, take in its aesthetics. It’s a false impression that there is no such thing as a relevance of ‘sahitya’ in Hindustani music. Yeh amurtya sangeet hai; an summary artwork, nevertheless it does want the prop of lyrics to boost it.”

An erudite singer himself, Shounak talks about how his father knew tons of of compositions, not solely from the Gwalior Agra Jaipur custom, but additionally from the Khurja gharana. “He learnt from Ustad Azmat Hussain Khan for 10 years, and Pt. Jagannath bua Purohit, who I feel have been the primary influences in his music. After all, he additionally learnt from Jaipur doyen Pt. Gullubhai Jassdanwalla, and from Baba Sahib (Azizuddin Khan, grandson of Ustad Alladiya Khan). The Khurja gharana raags are completely different, their Nat Kamod is completely different to what’s generally rendered. Baba additionally sang lots of Pt. Ram Ashrey Jha’s compositions and people of his gurubhai, Pt. C.R. Vyas.”

Pt. Jitendra Abhisheki composed for 17 musicals, the primary being ‘Matsyagandha’; he was additionally a well-liked abhang singer and composer, he sang Rabindra sangeet too. “So far as new raags are involved, my father was probably not drawn to creating them. He did incorporate two Carnatic ragas in his repertoire — Amritavarshini, through which he composed two bandishes, and Manoranjini. He additionally favored singing ‘jor’ raags like Hindol Bahar, Triveni,” says Shounak, who desires to present again to the music world by the various festivals that he organises in reminiscence of his father.

The annual Pt. Jitendra Abhisheki pageant shall be held in Goa on September 24 and 25.

The Delhi-based critic specialises in classical music.