Audience mesmerised by music

BANGALORE: Concert titled ‘Shyam Rang’ was presented by the Bangalore International Centre in city recently, took the audience on a journey of exploration - of the various and  multi faceted personifications of Krishna.Nagabhushan  Hegde, an exponent of the kirana gharana style of Hindustani classical music, the audience through a gamut of  expressions or rasas - from fervour and obeisance to ecstasy, from adoration  and passion to utter sorrow of separation, and finally from sheer joy and revelation in the beauty of the Lord, back to devotion and bhakthi.The concert started with the evening raga Yaman in which the singer sang the khayal Baja Hari Nama in vilambit pace and to the beat of Ek Taal. Even as the leisurely  exposition gave way to an intense exploration and exquisite phrases and took  the listeners along with its flow. As the singer  moved on to the Drut piece Aaj Aaye Shyam Mohana in the same raga the mood was one of tumultuous joy and revelry at the advent of the little Shyama. A succinct alaap in the raga Desh was followed by the khayal Chanchal Chal Krishna Kanha in taal Dadra and sung with such great involvement that one could almost visualise the pranks of the child Krishna.The singer’s skills and artistry were as exemplified in his adept handling of the raga alaap as in the sargams and the intricate taans. One of the most important features of  Hegde’s taans is  indisputably his ability to maintain the evenness of tone in all the three octaves even while traversing complex swara patterns. The pangs of separation felt by the Gopis pining for their Lord were depicted  poignantly in Nagabhushan Hegde’s emotive voice. The concert came to a fitting conclusion with a Purandara Dasa Bhajan, Devaki Kanda Mukunda in raga Malkauns. In this bhajan  there was a fascinating  blend of a majestic raga, lyrics of a  great composer  and a glorious voice and Nagabhushan  brought out the multiple facets of   Krishna with great expertise and emotion. The impact was enhanced by the support given by Keshav Joshi on the tabla and Madhusudan Bhat on the harmonium.