Friday 13 January 2017

Sur Niragas ho...

Sur Niragas Ho…

Sur Niragas Ho…This phrase has gathered the maximum fan base in minimum time in the Marathi speaking world. Right from the time, when ‘Katyar Kaljat Ghusli’, that gem of a movie by Subodh Bhave, was released, these three words are omnipresent, wherever a Marathi music program is organised. For a long time, Anand Bhate, popularly known as Anand Gandharva, and Rahul Deshpande have ruled over the hearts of Marathi audiophiles. Both enjoy a good command over Marathi Natya Sangeet as well as Shastriya Sangeet and Vitthal Bhajans. To this exalted group, a gem from Pune got added, introduced in ‘Katyar Kaljat Ghusli’, as the voice of Sadashiv, a character played by Subodh Bhave. Mahesh Kale…

Mahesh Kale, an eminent student of Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki, first came to prominence, not in India, but in the USA, where he had gone to pursue higher education. There he started his solo performances and became quite well known across America. He got his big break through ‘Katyar Kaljat Ghusli’, and has not looked back since then.

Today morning, I woke up to the lilting strains of Marathi Natya Sangeet, which came riding over the chilled morning air, making its way through the tightly closed windows of my house, a precaution taken every night, to keep out the chill and the pesky mosquitoes. Even in my sleepy state I could recognise the heavenly voice of Mahesh Kale and decided I had to be at the Upvan Lake, which is currently all decked up like a bride, for celebrating the Sanskriti Arts Festival. Braving the morning chill, I reached the venue, the Tarang stage, a platform temporarily constructed on the lake. The stage was occupied by Mahesh Kale, regaling the huge crowd in front of him with ethereal singing, and all the musicians, who accompany him, in his singing journey. I too became a part of the mesmerised crowd. The next 2 hours were pure bliss as everyone forgot all their daily worries and concentrated on enjoying the experience of a lifetime.

Just imagine…you are sitting in an open air arena, Mahesh Kale is dishing out one gem after another, a duck passes by in the background, the mynahs, perched on the tree branches nearby, joining the chorus, the chilled morning air flowing gently over the lake waters, causing tiny ripples. And as the singer chants ‘Morya, Morya…’ or ‘Vithal Vitthal…’ , his tempo rising and falling, the entire arena is reverberating in Harmony.

Friends, if this is not heaven, then tell me, what is…

Yatindra Tawde

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