TUSTIN,CA - The Ravi and Shashi Bellare Arts Foundation held a Tabla Festival on July 28 & 29 at the Chinmaya Mission auditorium. The Festival commemorates the late Pandit Taranath Rao and his twin nephews/disciples, Pandit Ravi Bellare and Pandit Shashi Bellare who popularized the tabla style of the Farrukhabad gharana. From the minute Pandit Sadanand Naimpalli, Vijay Kangutkar and other disciples of the late Pandit Taranath Rao,
Ravi and Shashi Bellare switched on the inaugural Diyaas on July 28, the Festival of Tabla took off.
The first tabla solo was by the youngest performer, Amruth Annavaram, in his early teens, disciple of Leonice Shinneman, himself a disciple of Taranath Rao. Leonice played lehera for his student’s rendition of Teental. This was the perfect start to the Festival.
Another bright youngster Hriday Buddhdev of Vancouver,Canada, impressed the audience with a Teentaal rendition in three tempos, accompanied by Akaash Pujara on harmonium.
Sarang Majmudar gave an excellent tabla solo. He was assisted by the sarangi virtuoso Pandit Pankaj Mishra, an inspired pairing of a young performer with an established artist.
After lunch , Chirag Dixit, a graduate of UC Riverside who now lives in Portland Oregon, played Raag Madhuvanti on Sarangi, with Sarang Majmudar providing tabla accompaniment.
Miles Shrewsbury, student of Abhiman Kaushal, played a tabla solo in Teental. Master artist Vijay Kangutkar provided him harmonium accompaniment.
Bryan Jones and David Beards, who came all the way from Scotland with their guru, Vijay Kangutkar, rendered a definitive tabla duet in the rarely heard 11-beat Ashtamangal taal with Vijayji providing lehra on harmonium.
Deepa Paulus of New York, gave a very impressive tabla solo. She was the first woman on the Festival stage. The goal of the Foundation is to present rarely heard female percussionists and at the Festival they had two players.
A Kathak dance duet by Shweta Saraswat and Smita Rawal Alves, brought a touch of visual variety to the program.
Another showcase was a harmonium solo by well-known Kolkata artist, Pandit Sanatan Goswami, accompanied on Tabla by, Pandit Shashanka Bakshi. The climax of the afternoon was Vijay Kangutkar’s beautiful tabla solo, with Pankaj Mishra providing lehra on sarangi. The first night concluded with a star performance by Alam Khan, youngest son and disciple of Late Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, ably assisted on tabla by Vijay Kangutkar.
The second day program began with a senior vocal student of Ravi Bellare, Shubha Bhat, singing Khayal in Raag Shudh Sarang followed by a Kabir Bhajan in Kirwani, accompanied by Pankaj Mishra on sarangi and Narayan Kadekodi on tabla.
Accomplished tenth grader Pancham Pawan played an impressive tabla solo in Teental. Following him was Rahul Soparkar, an alumnus of the Alla Rakha Institute, Mumbai, who is learning nuances of the Punjab gharana with tabla virtuoso Aditya Kalyanpur.
Hriday Buddhev returned, this time as sarode player.
Dana Pandey presented a powerful tabla solo in Teental, with Sanatan Goswami providing lehra on harmonium. It is worth noting that although women playing tabla can be counted on fingers of two hands, the Tabla Festival managed to stage two women tabla players--one emerging, one established. This was followed by a tabla solo in Teental by Jas Ahluwalia Veteran Sanatan Goswami accompanied Jas on harmonium. Jas showed the power and creativity of the Punjab Gharana.
For a change of pace, teen-aged singer Sohoni Pawan, gave a smooth rendering of Raag Madhuvanti, accompanied on tabla by her brother Pancham. After Tea Break, veteran tabla artist Pandit Sadanand Naimpalli commanded the stage with a memorable solo in Teentaal, accompanied by Pandit Pankaj Mishra on sarangi. The standing ovation he received lasted nearly a minute. Another melodic interlude was provided by a sitar performance by sitarist, composer and experimental musician, Rajib Karmakar. The Finale was the Tabla solo by tabla virtuoso Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri. Pandit Sanatan Goswami accompanied him on harmonium. Rupesh and Mona Kotecha were superb emcees who kept their introductions short and pertinent and helped move the action along.
The first tabla solo was by the youngest performer, Amruth Annavaram, in his early teens, disciple of Leonice Shinneman, himself a disciple of Taranath Rao. Leonice played lehera for his student’s rendition of Teental. This was the perfect start to the Festival.
Another bright youngster Hriday Buddhdev of Vancouver,Canada, impressed the audience with a Teentaal rendition in three tempos, accompanied by Akaash Pujara on harmonium.
Sarang Majmudar gave an excellent tabla solo. He was assisted by the sarangi virtuoso Pandit Pankaj Mishra, an inspired pairing of a young performer with an established artist.
After lunch , Chirag Dixit, a graduate of UC Riverside who now lives in Portland Oregon, played Raag Madhuvanti on Sarangi, with Sarang Majmudar providing tabla accompaniment.
Miles Shrewsbury, student of Abhiman Kaushal, played a tabla solo in Teental. Master artist Vijay Kangutkar provided him harmonium accompaniment.
Bryan Jones and David Beards, who came all the way from Scotland with their guru, Vijay Kangutkar, rendered a definitive tabla duet in the rarely heard 11-beat Ashtamangal taal with Vijayji providing lehra on harmonium.
Deepa Paulus of New York, gave a very impressive tabla solo. She was the first woman on the Festival stage. The goal of the Foundation is to present rarely heard female percussionists and at the Festival they had two players.
A Kathak dance duet by Shweta Saraswat and Smita Rawal Alves, brought a touch of visual variety to the program.
Another showcase was a harmonium solo by well-known Kolkata artist, Pandit Sanatan Goswami, accompanied on Tabla by, Pandit Shashanka Bakshi. The climax of the afternoon was Vijay Kangutkar’s beautiful tabla solo, with Pankaj Mishra providing lehra on sarangi. The first night concluded with a star performance by Alam Khan, youngest son and disciple of Late Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, ably assisted on tabla by Vijay Kangutkar.
The second day program began with a senior vocal student of Ravi Bellare, Shubha Bhat, singing Khayal in Raag Shudh Sarang followed by a Kabir Bhajan in Kirwani, accompanied by Pankaj Mishra on sarangi and Narayan Kadekodi on tabla.
Accomplished tenth grader Pancham Pawan played an impressive tabla solo in Teental. Following him was Rahul Soparkar, an alumnus of the Alla Rakha Institute, Mumbai, who is learning nuances of the Punjab gharana with tabla virtuoso Aditya Kalyanpur.
Hriday Buddhev returned, this time as sarode player.
Dana Pandey presented a powerful tabla solo in Teental, with Sanatan Goswami providing lehra on harmonium. It is worth noting that although women playing tabla can be counted on fingers of two hands, the Tabla Festival managed to stage two women tabla players--one emerging, one established. This was followed by a tabla solo in Teental by Jas Ahluwalia Veteran Sanatan Goswami accompanied Jas on harmonium. Jas showed the power and creativity of the Punjab Gharana.
For a change of pace, teen-aged singer Sohoni Pawan, gave a smooth rendering of Raag Madhuvanti, accompanied on tabla by her brother Pancham. After Tea Break, veteran tabla artist Pandit Sadanand Naimpalli commanded the stage with a memorable solo in Teentaal, accompanied by Pandit Pankaj Mishra on sarangi. The standing ovation he received lasted nearly a minute. Another melodic interlude was provided by a sitar performance by sitarist, composer and experimental musician, Rajib Karmakar. The Finale was the Tabla solo by tabla virtuoso Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri. Pandit Sanatan Goswami accompanied him on harmonium. Rupesh and Mona Kotecha were superb emcees who kept their introductions short and pertinent and helped move the action along.
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