Vinayakram livens up day-3 of Bengal Fest

Vidwan Thetakudi Harihara 'Vikku' Vinayakram and his ensemble brought the 6th Bengal Classical Music Festival to life on its third evening, with an astonishing display of Carnatic percussion.

People began pouring in on the weekend evening at the capital's Abahani ground, the festival's new venue, as students of Bengal Parampara Sengeetalay presented a sitar recital to set the evening in motion. The seven-member group presented a composition on Raga Kirwani, composed by their guru Pt Kushal Das.

South Asia's first Grammy nominee Vikku Vinayakram, his son Selvaganesh Vinayakram, grandson Swaminathan Selvaganesh along with A Ganesah took the stage next, performing Carnatic percussion on the ghatam (clay pot), kanjeera (frame hand drum) and a percussion set, kanjeera and konnakol (vocal 'bol') and morsing respectively. The quadrant shook the entire arena with their thundering beats in astonishing speed and complexity, performing pieces like “Shiva Thandava”, “Seven and a Half”, “Guru Vandana” and “Ganesha Thalam”, among others. Vikku Vinayakram sat with four ghatams, while Selvaganesh sat on a percussion kit consisting of cymbals of varying sizes, a snare, kanjeera and a kick pedal. Incorporating intense vocal bol, the group displayed a wide range of rhythms that swayed the audience from start to finish.

The next performers of the night were students of Government Music College who presented a khyal in Raga Malkauns. They were followed by accomplished sarodiya Abir Hussain, who gave a textbook classical presentation on Raga Abhogi. Bangladeshi flautist Gazi Abdul Hakim took stage before midnight, performing Raga Desh on the bansuri (bamboo flute).

With weekend coming up, the venue saw crowds swell as the night went on with dhrupad vocals by Pt Uday Bhawalkar, Carnatic violin by Vidushi Kala Ramnath and khyal vocals by veteran classical singer Pt Ajoy Chakrabarty still to come.

The Bengal Classical Music Fest is presented by Square and supported by Brac Bank Ltd. Blues Communications is in charge of event management, with support from Perfect Haromny, Singapore. This year's festival has been dedicated to eminent educationist and researcher Professor Emeritus Anisuzzaman.