The emerging performance platforms for young artistes

Hindustani vocalist Rujuta Lad accompanied on the harmonium by Vinay Mishra and on the tabla by Saptak Sharma carried out for Raza Foundation’s ‘Aarambh’.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

In latest instances, there was a surge in young expertise, however not all of them are in a position to make it to the performance stage regardless of rigorous coaching. It is right here that initiatives comparable to Raza Foundation’s Arambh and IIC’s (India International Centre) ‘Double Bill’ play a pivotal function.

While the 2025 version of ‘Arambh’, held on the Amaltas Theatre of India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, featured vocalist Rujuta Lad, ‘Double Bill’ showcased Hindustani vocalist Dhanashri Ghaisas and Aditya Shanker and troupe (instrumental fusion music).

Rujuta initially educated below Dhondhu Tai Kulkarni, and additional refined her expertise below Ashwini Bhide Deshpande, an exponent of the Jaipur Atrauli gharana.

Accompanied on the harmonium by Vinay Mishra and on the tabla by Saptak Sharma, Rujuta opened her live performance with raag Nand. The conventional bada khayal ‘Dhundhu bare sainyan…’ was rendered in vilambit Teentaal as per the conference of her gharana. She delineated the piece in a leisurely method, going by systematic alap, bol alap, barhat and diverse taan patterns, earlier than progressing by the chhota khayal ‘Aa ja re balauva’, composed by Kishori Amonkar in a medium tempo of Teentaal.

She subsequent selected to render ‘Nayaki kanhada’ is a staple of the Jaipur Atrauli gharana. The well-known bandish ‘Mero piya rasiya’ was handled aplomb in Madhya-Vilambit Rupak taal. The different bandish ‘Nikli albeli rangili naar’, composed by Ashwini Bhide, was adorned with quicksilver taans to go well with the bandish. Rujuta additionally needed to sing a Hori however concluded with a Bhairavi bhajan as a consequence of paucity of time.

Dhanashri Ghaisas, disciple of Ashwini Bhide Deshpande, confirmed a very good grasp of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Dhanashri, who carried out on the Double Bill sequence, additionally educated below Ashwini Bhide Deshpande. Showing her grasp over the attribute options of her guru’s gharana, Dhanashri opened with raag Yaman, however the usage of the Shuddha Madhyam typically made it sound like Yaman-Kalyan. After an alluring alap, Dhanashri offered a conventional bada khayal ‘Mo mann lagan lagi’ set in Vilambit (gradual) Teentaal. She elaborated the raag step by step, focussing on its melodic factors. The bandish featured taan patterns distinctive to the gharana. The tarana set to Drut Ek-taal, composed by her guru, got here as a part of the primary raag.

Dhanashri subsequent offered raag Basant, which led to a change in temper. She sang the bandish ‘Aai ruta Basant’, adorning it with quite a lot of taans. Dhanashri concluded with a Hori ‘Main toh khelungi unahin se hori guniyaan’, composed by Bindadin Maharaj. The harmonium accompaniment by Kshitij Singh and the concluding laggi on the tabla by Vinod Lele enhanced the attraction of her live performance.

Aditya Shanker on the tabla, Kartikeya Vashishth on the flute, Neeraj Kumar on percussion and Shailendra Wakhlu on the guitar carried out at IIC’s Double Bill live performance sequence.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

The performance by the fusion ensemble with Aditya on the tabla, Kartikeya Vashishth on the flute, Neeraj Kumar on percussion and Shailendra Wakhlu on the guitar was structured like a journey. Aditya’s guru Ustad Rafiuddin Sabri was current within the viewers.

The live performance, which started with Shiv-Vandana ‘Om Namah Shivaaya’, in raag Malkauns moved to an Egyptian folks tune that gave the impression of Bhairav, and pop-influenced piece, earlier than concluding with a thumri ‘Ka karun sajni, aaye na balam’ in Bhairavi. But the ensemble couldn’t sustain the momentum with its disparate repertoire.