Bhubaneswar: In a musical ``jugalbandi ‘’ of a unique kind, at the beautifully decorated IG Park on the eve of Utkal Divas, Odia classical songs were appreciated by the connoisseurs of classical music as the students of Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalay performed following a touching recital by well-known vocalist from Varanasi Anoop Misra, as the latter won the hearts of the people.
Anoop Misra, eminent classical singer from Banaras Gharana, started his rendition with an offering to Lord Jagannath and said how he is fortunate to travel from the land of Tridev or Lord Shiva to the Land of Jagannath and the city of Lingaraj on the auspicious Navratri celebrations as the New Year as per the Indian Calendar is being celebrated across the nation.
The famous Hindustani vocalist, who performed along with his son Aryan Misra on stage, compared music with a `sadhana’ (practice) and the performance to a `puja’ (religious offering) and how he was lucky to perform in the City of Temples.
The singer let his son Aryan start the concert with a song ``Sanj bhaye sab guni jana gabe’’ with Raag Marwa and the song was well appreciated by the audience. After that Anoop Misra sang ``Jagat Janani Maata... Tuhi Maata’’ with Raag Saraswati.
During the Allap, while introducing the Raag Sataswati, he said ``though the Raag Saraswati is basically a Raag from Southern India, many North Indian musicians have created beautiful compositions with the unique Raaga and it has a great fan following as well. Anoop Misra performed two songs with Raag Saraswati.
Coinciding with the Utkal Divas celebration, the evening before the illustrious day, the authorities of the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) had decided to celebrate the Music In Park programme with soulful Odissi songs.
The Odissi music performance was done in four phases, i.e. Jagannath Astakam by Adi Sankaracharya, Raganga Parjaya (session) with Raga Bajrakanti and Tala Eka Tali and song ``Nikunje Jaana Braja Jubaraja Kanha’’. The lyricist is Kabi Loknath Patnaik. The Natyanga Parjaya (session) was with Raga Pilu (Mishra) and Tal Khemata and song ``Barijakshi Manaru Mana Baridere’’ with lyrics by Kabi Surya Baladeba Rath. All these was followed by Chhanda in another session with the traditional `Janana’or devotional song titled ``Ei kathare mo mana Mahabahu’’.
It can be mentioned here that Odissi music is traditionally linked to the Cult of Lord Jagannath. It is a Raaga-based classical music and has got all elements at par with all other classical musical forms. The Chhanda, Champu, Bhajan, Gitagovinda, Pallabi and Malashree combinedly formed the first performance named Jagannath Astakam written by Adi Sankaracharya and was with Taal Ektali.
Anoop Misra was accompanied by Aryan Misra (Vocal), Simanchal Maharana (Tabla), Pranaya Kumar Palei (Harmonium), Sumanta Maharana and Santoash Kumar Dash on Tanpura.
The Odissi recital was performed by the students of Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalay, Bhubaneswar, and they were accompanied by well-known exponents with the traditional music cal instruments like Guru Sachhidananda Das on Mardala, Guru Binod Bihari Rout on Tabla, Guru Jawahar Mishra on Flute, Guru Murlidhar Swain on Manjira and Sandhyarani Bhyuan on Tanpura.
While the music direction in Odissi was by Guru Bijay Kumar Jena, Guru Ramahari Das, an eminent vocalist in Odissi Music inaugurated the event. Senior officials including BDA Secretary Debaraj Senapati and Member (Enforcement) Bhabani Chayani were also present during the lighting of the lamp ceremony to inaugurate the event.
Among others, senior members of Bhubaneswar Music Circle and SPIC-MACAY, Odisha Chapter, were also present during the event.
Vocalist Anoop Mishra, born on July 7, 1974, in a family of musicians, learnt the basics from his maternal grandfather Sangeet Acharya Pandit Hari Shankar Misra, at the tender age of five. However, after the demise of his first Guru, he continued his learning under great Sarangi maestro Hanuman Prasad Misra, father of renowned vocalist Pandit Rajan and Sajan Misra.
The famous classical singer also performed in many important events in Paris, Rome, Milan and Vienna and was conferred with Surmani Award in 2001 in Mumbai