A recital of Pandit Satyasheel Deshpande’s traditional ‘bandish’ is not an event, it’s an experience; almost an education. But the humble man that he is, Deshpande dedicated his performance on Saturday to his teacher – Pandit Kumar Gandharva.
How fitting, as the recital is going to be part of Saptak Archives – a lecture demonstration series by the popular music school of the city. His accompanists this evening were Praveen Shinde of Banaras Gharana on Tabla and his son as supporting vocalist.
“Kumarji used to say that he may be hundred years of age, but his music had the experience of more than his lifetime,” said Deshpande, after his performance.
A renowned exponent of Hindustani music, Deshpande grew up amidst stalwarts like Pt Bhimsen Joshi, Smt Mogubai Kurdikar, Pt Vasantrao Deshpande and of course, Kumarji. The numerous ‘Aalap’ that he crooned of his teacher reverberated off the walls, mesmerising the audience at the same time.
“I presented the style, thoughts and ragas of my guru and explained the nuances with the music,” said Deshpande. “This show was aimed at telling students of shastriya sangeet that styles in music can be given a personal touch, but basics remain the same.”
“The hunger to learn is important. Even listening to lingering tunes of ‘jhaptaal and ‘theka’ can teach a lot about music,” he added. Speaking about his guru he said, “Kumar ji used to say that he was 100 yrs of age but his musical age was 150 years.”
One of the music lovers in the audience described the evening as a lec-dem par excellence, something which this city hasn’t experienced in a long time.
