The final weekend of Ragamala's Utsav 2007 featured Smt. Lakshmi Shankar's vocal recital on Saturday, October 13 at the Museum of History and Industry. We had long awaited this event, because Lakshmiji had not performed in Seattle for a very long time. Two or three years ago, we had heard that there was a prospect of her performance in Seattle, arranged under the aegis of another organization, but somehow, that event did not materialize. So, with appetites whetted from the memory of that disappointment, we were looking forward to the concert.

She did not disappoint. At an age past 80 (yes, we Indians are not reticent about age. Elders often parade it with a touch of pride), her voice is supple, totally in tune and capable of bringing off subtle phrases that would challenge anyone. What we got was a straightforward, no-gimmicks recital featuring a mix of both classic and lighter forms, presented with clear diction, controlled emotion, and a fine sense of proportion.

Laksmiji began her recital with a vilambit khayal in Raga Bihag, set to ektal, with the composition "Aja hun na aye balamawa". Launching it after a brief introductory alap, she developed it with singular reliance on bol-baant for developing the mood behind the composition. Although she did sing some sargam (a hallmark of her principal ustad's style) halfway through her exposition, most of the rendering consisted of interesting bol-baant patterns, where the words were sung with a variety of metrical patterns interwoven with musical patterns germane to Bihag. A couple of phrases left a lasting impression on me: a use of the phrase "ga re sa, ni sa ma ga re sa" sung with great delicacy and a timing replete with surprise; the use of the phrase "re ni sa, dha ma' pa", using the tivra madhyam in the second part exactly to make it a transposition of the first part. This phrase was repeated once just to make sure that the listener got the point, but then left alone so that it could be enjoyed fully in retrospect. The vilambit khayal was followed by the well known traditional composition "lata ulajhi surajha ja balama". Here she departed from the bandish handed down to all gharanas by the primal Gwalior gharana, and chose to present a version of the sthayi that differed both in words and music from the Gwalior version, although her development of the bandish was in line with the style.

Following Bihag, the first half of the recital was rounded out with a Thumri in Mishra Shivaranjani with the words "Na jawo sainyan parades", followed by the well-known Meera Bhajan "Baso more nainana men nanda lala". The use of Shivaranjani for presenting a thumri was certainly innovative, but presented challenges in matching the somewhat sprightly character of the Raga with the forlorn mood of the composition itself. The Meera Bhajan was presented using musical material quite different from the form that one tends to associate with this bhajan, based on Raga Kedar, made famous by M. S. Subbulakshmi's rendering. It was a refreshing change.

Lakshmiji opted for Raga Kirwani to open the second half of her recital. The compositions were her old favorites – "Sajana aye" in vilambit ektal, and "nata nagara ati sundara" in drut teental . Those of us who have heard Laksmiji's old vinyl LP have always enjoyed her version of these compositions. Her presentation was completely faithful to her old presentation, and brought back memories. Kirwani is so sweet that it is difficult to go wrong with it, but with all that, there is an indeterminable iota of artistry that needs to be in evidence in order for the performance to succeed. This she supplied adroitly. She concluded by honoring a request from a person in the audience for a bhajan by Kripal Das, presented in Raga Janasammohini, followed by the Meera Bhajan " "Jogi mata ja" in Raga Sindhu Bhairavi. Again the last piece used music quite distinct from the traditional tune established by Gwalior singers and later carried to a super-emotive apotheosis by Omkarnath Thakur.

 

 

Accompanying Lakshmiji on the harmonium was Kedar Naphade, a disciple of Tulsidas Borkar, who is a harmonium player par excellence. Kedar was in excellent form, following Lakshmiji's every phrase faithfully ex tempore, stimulating her to new variations when she gave him scope to play little passages on his own, always keeping his development consistent with the aesthetic choices of pace and mood set by the main performer. He is clearly a star on the rise. Abhinay Padhye provided finely balanced accompaniment on the tabla, with artful fillers during the time that the vocalist allowed and expected them, and being unobtrusive but accurate at other times. His laggi in the last part of the Shivaranjani Thumri was scintillating. Very reminiscent of his teacher Bhai Gaitonde, whose laggi technique is much envied.

 

Although Lakshmiji has expressed privately to some people during her stay in Seattle that she is contemplating retiring from active performance, I think that most people in the audience would agree that there is no call for her to hurry towards the gentle eve of retirement.