Kala Ghoda, one of the greatest cultural extravaganzas and celebrated arts festivals of India, attracts renowned artists from across the globe. This year, Sakal Anunad is bringing together dhrupad singers, Pandit Umakant Gundecha and his nephew Anant, and Kathak dancer, Prerana Deshpande, to perform at the festival which is underway in Mumbai till February 9, 2020. The artists will perform at National Gallery of Modern Art on February 8 at 5 pm.
‘Listen to every genre of music’
The Gundecha Brothers — Umakant and the late Ramakant Gundecha, are known as the torchbearers of the Dagar Gharana tradition and have taken dhrupad music to new heights. After Ramakant passed away, his son Anant has been performing with his uncle.
Pt Umakant says that Kala Ghoda is a prestigious festival and has given Mumbai a new identity. “The way Sakal and organisers of Kala Ghoda have planned this, they are making serious efforts to go back to the roots.”
The duo will only sing aalap. Pt Umakant says that he is thrilled to perform at the festival and calls it a unique experience. “We rarely get an offer to sing only aalap. Devotion is of two types — one is through sur (tune) and the other is through padh (verse). We sing the verse of the gods and goddesses of that temple — that’s one kind of devotion. The other is through the tunes, which is rarely heard,” he says.
He adds that performing in a temple is a different experience because the vibrations are different. “We are devotional people so the emotions become different and so does the performance. It’s a different atmosphere, unparalleled,” says Pt Umakant, who has won prestigious awards including Padma Shri, Sangeet Natak Akademi, Madhya Pradesh Gaurav Samman, Smt Vatsala Joshi Samman, amongst others.
He says that performing on stage in front of hundreds of people is a completely different experience.
For decades, he had performed with his younger brother and it was a perfect symphony. Ask him if performing with Anant is any different and Pt Umakant says, “Ramakant and I grew up together, learnt music and performed together, so we had a great understanding. Anant has seen his papa and bade papa’s jugalbandi while singing since he was a kid. He has been performing solo for many years and he has been learning so much. He has seen our equation and behaviour towards each other. It, therefore, did not take him much time to pick up.”
He adds, “We create a beautiful equation while performing.”
Pt Umakant takes pride over the fact that listeners are appreciating Anant’s voice. “Many feel that they cannot differentiate if Ramakant or Anant is performing on stage because his voice is similar to his father’s,” he says.
Classical music has seen an increase in the number of both young musicians and listeners. The veteran classical singer says that it’s happening because of acceptance. “Young listeners should listen to every genre of music. They can listen to pop, jazz, dhrupad, ghazal. Once you start listening to a certain style of music, you understand the nuances of the genre and how you should appreciate it,” he says.
A pure form of dance
Senior Kathak dancer Prerana Deshpande will perform in front of a limited audience at Sakal Anunad. What makes her performance even more interesting is the fact that she will perform without musical instruments, which she says is different and challenging at the same time. “I will perform with my vocalist and have my students with me. Usually, musical instruments like the tabla, sitar, harmonium are used in dance as they enhance the performance. Without the instruments, the whole focus will be on dance. This will also help me share my medium in detail with my audience,” says Prerana, adding, “While we are used to performing with instruments, the audience too is used to seeing us perform like that, so it’s going to be a different experience for both of us.” This will allow the audience to enjoy dance performance in its original form.
Prerana will perform at an art gallery and she says it’s interesting because the space has its own energy with paintings.
A disciple of the late Dr Rohini Bhate, Prerana has been felicitated by the legendary Pt Birju Maharaj with Gaurav Puruskar. She has also been honoured with the title of Nrityashri and was conferred the title of Singar Mani by the Sur Singar Samsad of Mumbai.
As the conversation moves towards her guru, she shares that she had been training under Dr Bhate from the age of seven. “It’s been such a long journey that I cannot say when exactly our relationship evolved. It’s an important part of my life and all through that journey, I was so impressed with all the aspects of her personality. Her approach to dance, her compositions, discipline, dedication, observations about our performances — all this became a learning for me,” says Prerana.
Each performance and practice is still fresh in her mind. “It feels like yesterday that I had a class with her. She was not the kind of person, who would share something just like that. A lot of thought went into every word she uttered. The way she looked at dance, how it must involve literature, how one should choose a composition — all her teachings have shaped my thinking of dance. I don’t know any other way,” says Prerana, adding that she is imparting similar traditions to her students.
What is Anunad?
Music and art within the precincts of a sacred or heritage space become an intimate affair for both the performer and the audience. The experience which the music or dance creates becomes personal and sacred. Anunad has been conceptualised to recreate this very experience and establish the lost links between ancient Indian architecture and the yogic arts.
