
The night began with Padma Talwalkar‘s beautiful rendition of Raags Yaman and Durga, and the powerful vocals of the artiste set the tempo for the night. Ganesh and Kumaresh, with their eclectic blend of Eastern and Western styles, held the listeners spellbound through a superb delivery of raags Mayamalavagowla and Reetigowla.
This was followed by a mermerizing performance by carnatic vocalist Unnikrishnan, who sang a couple of swati tirunal compositions in Vasantha and Saveri. The Kuchipudi performance by Vyjayanthi Kashi was lined up next. (although strictly speaking the art form is slightly out of scope of the author’s stated areas of expertise 🙂 ) One could see the poise and grace the artiste pulled off on stage and appreciate the years of dedication which went into reaching the pinnacle of her career.
Arguably one of the best sitar players in the current circuit, Ustad Shahid Pervez Khan capped off the show with an amazing rendition of Miyan ki todi and Bhairavi. The resonating notes of the sympathetic strings at 4 am in the morning was an ethereal experience in itself, and thrashing out notes after notes like the connoisseur that Ustad is, completed an unforgettable experience for all music lovers.