Sarode recital
Upaasana
by Soumya Chakraverty
Soumya started his musical training at the age of nine by learning the tabla from Siddhartha Roychoudhury. A couple of years later he switched to the sarod under the guidance of Pt. Samarendra Nath Sikdar, a noted sarodia and a senior disciple of Pt. Radhika Mohan Maitra from whom he continues to learn. His playing style is characteristic of the maestros of his gharana such as his guru, Pandit Sikdar, Pandit Buddhadev Dasgupta, and Pandit Radhika Mohan Moitra, and highlights a unique blend between the Rababiya (derived from the Rabab) and Gayaki (derived from Hindustani vocal music) styles that is unique to theÊShahjahanpur Gharana. He blossomed as a young artist in Calcutta between 1988 and 1994 with regular performances at concerts and at All India Radio. Later on, as career pursuits took him to Australia in 1994, he performed at major music festivals as well as conducted lecture demonstrations and workshops. Notable amongst his performances were concerts at the Woodford Festival in Queensland, the World Music Cafe at the Brisbane Ethnic Music and Arts Center (BEMAC),and with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). He also collaborated with world music artists in the production of a Flamenco theatre piece called Suspiros de la Luna. His solid technique and thorough grounding in the roots of his own music notwithstanding, his interests also lie in exploring the commonalities between North Indian Classical music and other music styles. A few years later, when he came to the United States, he had the opportunity to work with Jazz, Carnatic (South) Indian Classical Music and Rabindrasangeet (music of Rabindranath Tagore), in addition to the pure Hindusthani classical style. A senior IT executive for a large consulting firm, Soumya currently lives in the Washington DC area and continues to pursue his passion for music through teaching and regular performances.
Raga Shyam Kalyan
Set to Kalyan thaat (mode), Shyam Kalyan is an early evening raga. The Arohan (ascending scale) and Avrohan (descending scale) are as follows: S R M^ P N D S. S. N D P M^ P G M R S [ ^ denotes sharp and .denotes upper octave ]
The beauty of the raga is enhanced by the use of both the natural and tivra (sharp) ‘Ma’ (fourth note). All other notes are natural. Although unsupported by factual evidence, some musicologists believe this raga is derived from an ancient raga called Shyam and may account for the raga’s name: Shyam Kalyan. However, the raga differs from other Kalyan thaat ragas such as Yaman and Shudh Kalyan in the omission of the ‘Ga’ (third note) in its ascending scale and the use of the two ‘Ma’s in the descent. Although somewhat similar to raga Shudh Sarang, Shyam Kalyan is distinguished by the subtle use of the ‘Ga’ to accentuate the ‘Re’ (second note), and the M^ P N D S. in the ascent, instead of M^ P N S..
The first movement in the composition is called the alaap, which literally translated, means introduction. Slow, subtle movements not only present the raga’s tonal structure, but also evoke the devotional aspects of this particular raga. The mood is similar to an evening prayer and the listener’s mind becomes reflective of the events from the day. The alaap leads to the jor, which although has its own rhythm, is not set to any specific taal (beat cycle) and is still without percussion accompaniment.
The second movement is the slow gat in teental (16 beat cycle). Soumya renders a traditional composition in Masitkhani style, and with long drawn out vistaars (slow, melodic expansions of the raga’s structure) builds upon it the foundations of this raga. On top of this are layered different patterns of boltaans (rhythmic phrases) often culminating in tihaais (triplets).
The third and final movement in this Raga is the drut or the fast gat, also set to a sixteen beat teental. Soumya embellishes the composition with fast ekhaara taans that are derived from the sitar or surbahar style of playing. The composition ends with a traditional larant and jhaala that bear the hallmark of the Shahjahanpur Gharana.
Shyam Kalyan
Raga Shyam Kalyan
Alaap and Jor
Vilambit Gat in Teentaal
Drut Gat in Teentaal
Raga Khamaj
Gats in Madhya laya Teental
Accompanists :
Tabla : Subhasis Nandi
