Shubha Mudgal's rare morning ragas leave audience rapt

Sunday's Udayswar concert of morning ragas by classical vocalist Shubha Mudgal which had sold out over a week ago saw a packed Prithvi theatre, with several music lovers choosing to sit in the aisles. For the enthusiastic crowds who had queued up in droves for the 7.30 am concert, Mudgal had a veritable treat in store.

She began with the raga Ramkali - the Bhairav thaat raga, usually presented in the latter part of the early morning – with a vilambit composition set to ektaal: Preet lagaaye bisar gaye balamwa composed by the founder of Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, Pt Vinay Chandra Maudgalya. The emotional lament of the forsaken nayika was more than apparent in the emotional tug of Mudgal's rendition. For the dhrut presentation she chose her own guru Pt Ramashreya Jha's composition in teental: Bhanakwaa kaan parilo ri.

Her choice of the second raga for the morning Yamani Bilawal saw many a music lover in the gathering overwhelmed since this was coming close on the heels of the demise of Hindustani classical music doyenne Kishori Amonkar, barely over a fortnight ago. She unfailingly performed this raga at most of her morning concerts. Mudgal chose another of her guru Pt Ramashreya Jha's compositions for the vilambit presentation in rupak taal: Sai tihaare naam ki aas lagi mohe. The next composition she chose for the drut presentation was also her guru's: Soi sujaan sant jin jaane peer paraye man ki, which had a powerful message for the times we live in when empathy is so hard to come by.

The concert then moved into the semi-classical genre. Both Mudgal's choice of a folksy Dadra in raga Mishra Kalingada: Darak gayi mori jheeni chunariya by Badri Narayan Upadhyaya and the way she rendered the composition underlined her formidable preparation and the minute detailing that she puts into both form and content in any performance. Her rendition of the word 'darak' would actually bring alive the imagery of how a diaphonous fabric being torn asunder.

The plum on the cake came with the final Mishra Bhairavi set to Deepchandi taal for which she chose the eternal favourite thumri Ras ke bhare tore nain, sawariya first sung by India's first recorded voice Gauhar Jaan and made popular by the other Benares gharana legend Rasoolan Bai. Though she sang this much loved composition, Mudgal owned it with her soulful rendition and her signature flourish.

From left to right: Aneesh Pradhan, Shubha Mudgal, her student Deshpande & Sudhir Nayak

Mudgal was provided with some robustly complimentary accompaniment by her husband Aneesh Pradhan on tabla and Sudhir Nayak on harmonium. Both the accompanists also got a lot of applause. Mudgal's student Deshpande too got wah-wahs when she sparingly supported her guru who herself seemed quite pleased with her disciple's prowess.

So moved was Shashi Vyas of Pancham Nishad who had organised the concert that he called the programme, “a classical concert presented in classical style by an artiste who has shown in her musicality why she is looked up to among the musicians in the country,” while addressing the gathering in the end when he had to request the audience to hold back the thunderous applause to talk.

He pointed out how the yearning in Mudgal's voice was hard to come by in today's time and recounted a Pune concert several decades ago with Bal Gandharva singing the popular Bhairavi Johar mai-baap. “Bhimsen Joshi who was on the tanpura asked him after the performance how to get the devotional tug in the voice and Bal Gandharva: 'Call out to the Lord like your life depended on it and he will put that devotional tug in your voice.' Today ShubhaJi's call to her piya (beloved) in the final Bhairavi was equally magentic in its pull. I wonder how the piya can hold back,” he said leaving the audience in splits.

Pradhan interjected throwing an arm around Mudgal jocularly and reminded Vyas, “This piya is right here,” leading to more laughter when Vyas punned, “All the more reason why he should respond, otherwise we'll think the piya (beloved) is piya (drunk).”

All the artistes and audience then went into peals of laughter and applauded.