The Bhopalites witnessed a special blend of composition of Hawaiian and Tabla, and the splendid jugalbandi with the classical Kathak dance.
A programme Strings N Steps was performed here on Sunday at Shaheed Bhawan Auditorium. Organised by Indian Council for Cultural Relations, (ICCR), Bhopal chapter, the programme was held under its Horizon series of cultural performances. A noted and well renowned Hawaiian guitarist Neel Ranjan Mukherjee was accompanied by the tabla player Zuheb Ahmed Khan and a kathak exponent Sangeet Majumdar. The artists were also accompanied by Anirban Bhattacharya on vocal and Harmonium. Notably, Strings N Steps is an amalgamation of North Indian Classical Music on the Western instrument Hawaiian guitar and the most popular percussion of India Tabla with the North Indian traditional dance form Kathak. Strings N Steps presents Music and Dance performed with same importance at the same time complimenting each other which is a rare combination. As the programme began with the tuneful jugalbandi of Hawaiian guitar, tabla and vocal, the rhythm of ghunghroo also captured the attention of the audience.Rhythmic understanding, ability to extemporize with speedy rhythms and preserving pure Kathak classical style were clearly seen on stage during the performance. She wonderfully captivated the attention of the audience. The natural beauty, talent and grace, Sangeeta is an accomplished Kathak dancer whose facial expressions complements her dance and makes her performance superbly stunning. Her emphasis is on Perfection, ‘Riyaz’, ‘Taiyyari’ in ‘Tatkar’, ‘Pandhant’ and command over the ‘laykari’. Ability to effortlessly move from one character to another in split of seconds has helped her in winning over the applauses of the audience. Further, the magic of strings also took the hearts away of the listeners as Neel with his natural sense of music and melody of the Raagas made the performance more zestful.
