Past perfect: Relive the Bhendi Bazar Gharana legacy

Back in 1890 Ustad Chhajjoo Khan Ustad Nazeer Khan and Ustad Khadim Hussain Khan who hailed from Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh founded the Bhendi Bazaar Gharana Later it was Ustad Aman Ali Khansaheb who went on to take the Gharana to new heights He even taught musicians such as Lata Mangeshkar and Manna Dey While the locality may have changed immeasurably over the years and is undergoing redevelopment few structures exist to celebrate the musicians Only its music lingers onu00a0Hence to mark Khansahebrsquos 125th anniversary the Gharanarsquos disciples are hosting the Bhendi Bazar Gharana Sangeet Sammelan with 16 musicians from across Indiau00a0 Meenaxi Mukherji will be performing at the event Pic Rane Ashish Age for music At 67 Suhasini Koratkar is considered as the seniormost disciple of the Gharana and she has been spearheading the organising of the event with the other shishyas disciples ldquoPeople will be exposed to the unique gayaki vocals sargam musical notes alap melodic improvisation that characterises this Gharana Ustad Aman Ali Khansaheb Each singer will get 15 minutes to sing and the event will be compered to help the audiences understand the proceedings betterrdquo she says adding that the attempt is to get a younger audience to attend such events ldquoIf the audience comprises of people in their 40s and 50s who will attend our shows 15 years from nowrdquo she wonders Meenaxi Mukherji a disciple from the Gharana who will also be singing at the event adds ldquoMusicians from Mumbai Pune Udaipur and Baroda will be assembling in the city for the event We have celebrations every year but itrsquos never been on such a large scalerdquo Mukherji adds that the Gharana has been one of the lesserknown ones due to the spiritual mindedness of the musicians who were wary of commercialising music ldquoThey didnrsquot stress on publicity and advertising so while the critics were aware of the Gharana the audience out there wasnrsquot so keyed inrdquo she states In the know Koratkar admits that awareness has increased ldquoEarlier whenever we would perform people from other Gharanas would be ignorant about the Bhendi Bazar Gharana Now there are students who are even doing research theses on this topic At the same time itrsquos necessary to highlight the Gharana because it presents a unique variety in Khayal singing and enriches Indian classical music Itrsquos a very rhythmical style of singing and never gets boringrdquo While coordinating with musicians may seem like a daunting task Mukherji underplays it by comparing it to an event within a family where everyone pitches in ldquoWe are also planning more events in the near future to raise awareness among youngsters about the Gharanardquo she adds Quiz Mukherji about the anecdotes about the Ustad and Mukherji says that her guru the Late Ramesh Nadkarni would reminisce about how the Ustad was a Krishnabhakt and would compose songs on Krishnarsquos leelas mdash ldquoHis compositions were futuristic and intricaterdquo Koratkar recalls the glory days ldquoThe Ustad contributed to the freedom movement He would compose songs daily for the Prabhat pheris or freedom marchesrdquo On May 26 530 pm onwards and May 27 10 am onwards At Sreevallabh Shikshan Sangeet Ashram behind Sion Bus Depot Sion W u00a0 Support young talent at Aarohi Aarohi the twoday annual music festival by Pancham Nishad offers a platform to young rising stars of Hindustani classical music The lineup includes vocalist Sameehan Kashalkar a flute recital by Ninad Mulaokar a vocal recital by Ankita Joshi and Surashree Ulhas Joshi a sitar performance by Shakir Khan and a vocal recital by Ramakant Gaikwad among others On May 25 and 26 630 pm At YB Chavan Auditorium Nariman Point Tickets are priced at Rs 200 and Rs 100 and can be collected from Rhythm House Kala Ghoda Maharashtra Watch Co Dadar W and at the venueu00a0