Bhubaneswar: The inaugural evening of ‘Legends of Music’, organised by Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi, under the aegis of the Odia Language, Literature and Culture department at Rabindra Mandap in Bhubaneswar on Monday, provided glimpses of times gone by.
The evening commenced with soulful bhajans of Bhajan Samrat Bhikhari Bal, presented by Rabindranath Mishra.
Mishra, a resident of Batipada village of Pattamundai block in Kendrapara district, set the mood of the evening. The soulful bhajans he wisely picked up for the evening were ‘Kotha bhoga khia’, ‘Nauria kari de pari’, ‘Jagabandhu he gossain’ and ‘Shreemandire jayi shreejagannatha nku’.
He was well supported by Ranjan Panda on Tabla, Manoj Kumar Das and Jachinda Behera on Keyboard, Dillip Kumar Jena on Pad and Shyamsunder Rao on Flute.
Next came a pleasant surprise in the form of noted vocalist Padma Shri awardee Shyamamani Devi who transported the listeners to a different world for some time by presenting works of Guru Singhari Shyamsunder Kar. She left the connoisseurs spellbound with her soulful recitals ‘Chanhare sajani’, ‘Manjula banchanayana’ and ‘Rakhila mana bimbadhari dhari re’.
She was supported by Guru Dhaneswar Swain on Mardala, Jawahar Mishra on Flute, Sarat Pani on Tabla and Suramani Ramesh Chandra Das on Violin.
Guru Ramahari Das and Dr Bijay Kumar Jena recreated the magic of Guru Balakrushna Dash.
While Das presented ‘Lajare sari gali aaja’, ‘Nayane sunayanare’ Jena sang ‘Bujhi kian abujha’. Next they presented a duet ‘Girisikhi anare’. They brilliantly explored the mood and texture of the songs.
Those who lent support to them on Mardala, Tabla, Flute and Violin were Guru Dhaneswar Swain, Sarat Pani, Jawahar Mishra and Suramani Ramesh Chandra Das respectively.
The following artiste were Parthasarathi Panigrahi and Dr Bijay Kumar Jena who presented Pandit Raghunath Panigrahi’s some timeless creations. Parthasarathi is the able son of Pandit Panigrahi.
While Panigrahi presented ‘Sabuthiru banchita kalu’, ‘Sushama go’, ‘Nupura bajae kie’ and ‘Kebe jadi asa time’, Guru Jena presented ‘Ago chandrika’.
He was accompanied by M Kiran Kumar on Guitar, Dushmant Kumar Parida on Tabla, Abanikant Das on Bongo, Basant Tiadi on Pad, Chintamani Biswal on Keyboard and M Simadri on Flute and Saxophone.
Next came celebrated vocalist Sangita Gosain who instantly stroke a chord with the audience. She presented the classic creations of Guru Bhubaneswar Mishra. She concluded her recital with ‘Sarve mangalye’. She was accompanied by Guru Satchitananda Das on Mardala, Suramani Ramesh Chandra Das on Violin and Murlidhar Swain on Harmonium.
Documentaries on the stalwarts played were educative. The emcee of the evening was Prof Mrutyunjay Rath.
