Pt Nandan Mehta’s legacy relived in Ahmedabad

Amdavadis can now relive the past and revisit the work of tabla maestro, Pandit Nandan Mehta. A gallery displaying the life of the man as well as the journey of Saptak has now been founded at the very place where he started one of the biggest and most popular Indian classical music festivals in the country.

The gallery is open for general public and can be visited between 11and 7 on weekdays. It is situated at Brij Complex just opposite old high court in the centre of Ahmedabad.

“Though we have inaugurated the gallery in January as of now the entry was restricted only to students and members of Saptak. However, now the gallery is open for general public. Any sangeet rasik can visit it,” says Sandip Joshi, who is married the daughter’s maestro.

One can take a walk down memory lane and feel the man’s life, which was spent entirely in the spread, growth and recognition of Hindustani classical music.

Trained under Padma Vibhushan Pandit Kishan Maharaj, Mehta was an outstanding tabla exponent of the Banaras gharana. He was the one who introduced Banaras gharana to Gujarat. Apart from being a noted performer and a guru, he was regarded as an institution builder who helped promote India’s rich musical heritage.

Unfortunately, we lost the man to cancer on March 26, 2010. He is survived by his wife - Manju Mehta, an eminent sitar player and two daughters - Poorvi Mehta, a promising sitarist and Hetal Mehta, a talented, young tabla player.

While one enters the gallery, it gives you a special feeling. A feeling of music that is soothing for the soul. Visitors will be overwhelmed by the aura of the greatest of the great performers, who have graced the country’s landmark of classical music at some point in time.

The left side of the main gallery is dedicated to a vignette of the great man. It also showcases the pictures of his childhood and marriage with Manju.

Photographs of the couple, who started the Saptak School of Music, which remains the most respected school for aspirants for more than two decades too are on display. Manju and her two daughters continue to teach tabla and sitar at the school.

The right side of the gallery showcases Bharat Ratna Pandit Ravishanker inaugurating the first edition of Saptak Festival. Held in January every year, it is the longest and most followed music festival in the country. The photographs in the gallery depict the maestro with some of the most renowned artists, including his guru Pt Kishen Maharaj.

It also has pictures from Saptak Festivals, when the likes of Ustad Zakir Hussein, Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma, Rajan and Sajan Mishra, Kishori Amonkar, Pt Ravishanker and other greats enthralled audiences over the years.