Khusrau inspires music fest

NCPA's Bandish: Festival of Legendary Composers showcases the treasured works by Khusrau and other great composers who gave Indian classical music its present form

NCPA's Bandish: Festival of Legendary Composers showcases the treasured works by Khusrau and other great composers who gave Indian classical music its present form

Khusrau dariya prem ka ulti vaki dhaar
Jo utra so doob gaya, Jo dooba so paar
(Khusrau! The river of love
Has a reverse flow,
He who enters will drown,
He who drowns will get across).

Dr Suvarnalata Rao from NCPA was reciting these poignant words penned by Amir Khusrau to a friend when the idea of organising the Bandish festival triggered off.

Ulhas Kashalkar will present compositions by Sadarang and Adarang, who are believed to have popularised the genre of Khayal

The three-day festival of Hindustani and Carnatic music pays tribute to the treasure of masterpieces left behind by composers including Miyan Tansen, Sadarang and Adarang, Muthuswami Dikshitar, Papanasam Sivan, Raskhan and Raheem, and Khusrau.

With a clear focus on the legendary composers, the festival intends to showcase various genres, themes and artistes.

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"Different composers created different forms of music. Khusrau created couplets, Sadarang and Adarang popularised khayal while Kabir is known for his dohas. By focussing on the composers, we get a chance to reconnect with our rich heritage," says Dr Rao, programming head, Indian music at NCPA.

The festival aims at getting the audience to appreciate the Indian oral tradition. "Tansen's compositions are based on ragas we sing even today. Western Classical music is written down in the form of notations while our poetry and music is passed down orally through generations," she explains.

It's more than a fleeting romance, assures Dr Rao, who plans to make Bandish a long-term property. For now, she is happy with the overwhelming response she has received for the event scheduled this weekend.

On: July 9 to 11, 6.30 pm at Tata Theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point.
Call: 22824567 / 66548135
Tickets: Rs 500, Rs 300, Rs 200 and
Rs 100