Are you a lover of classic music? Make time for an intimate baithak in Mumbai

Mohi Bahauddin Dagar

With the advent of the monsoon, the folks at G5A are preparing for a quieter and more reflective time for artistes to experiment and explore, quietly and deeply. If this interests you, you might want to witness a performance by maestro Mohi Bahauddin Dagar, an exponent of the instrument rudra veena, an ancient Indian classical musical instrument. He will perform at Baithak, an acoustic concert series that creates an intimate space and embraces the subtle, unspoken moments between artist, instrument, and the audience.

Dagar practises rudra veena in the Dhrupad genre, which is the oldest known style among the major vocal styles associated with Hindustani classical music, and traces its roots to the SamVeda. The word Dhrupad is derived from dhruva, which means constant, and pada, which means set-composition. "It is very heartening to know that G5A is encouraging the baithak format, as these Indian classical music baithaks were the soul of the Mumbai music scene in the 1970s," recalls the musician.

Anuradha Parikh

Born into an illustrious family of Dhrupad musicians in 1970, he first began his foray into Indian classical music at the early age of seven, training with the sitar under his mother, Smt Pramila Dagar. After his initial training, he received instructions on the surbahar and was later introduced to the rudra veena by his father, Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar, a legendary rudra veena maestro and his uncle, Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar; a celebrated Indian classical vocalist from whom he later also learnt vocal music.

Speaking about the Baithak series, Anuradha Parikh, founder of G5A, shares, "It allows us to re-establish the intimate connection between artiste, instrument, and audience that traditional performances embodied. We have been fortunate to have Julius Baer, a wealth management company, to support this series every month during our season, not just financially but also by bringing in a more diverse audience group."

On June 29; 8.30 pm
At G-5/A, Mahalaxmi West, Worli.
Log on to g5afoundation.org
Cost Rs 750