The fourth edition of Banyan Tree's 'Splendor of Masters', a stage for eminent personalities in the field of music and dance, was recently held at Chowdiah Memorial Hall.
For the first time, dance was also on the cards. Bharatanatyam dancer Alarmel Valli and odissi dancer Madhavi Mudgal performed together to add to the creative richness of the series. The evening began with the two dancers coming together in a unique way — performing their individual contrasting dance styles in the traditional manner, as well as exploring new avenues of dance by trying to collaborate.
"It was the first time that I've seen both these dances together. This is a wonderful way for a common man to see the differences. The coordination between the dancers was excellent," says Pratap, an attendee.
They danced to verses from the Atharva veda that spoke of the glory of nature and through this, depicted the five elements. Their final piece, Samanvaya, crystallised the central idea behind the presentation — with distinctive aspects aligning to explore the subtle nuances of each form.
"It was interesting to watch the two, who were starkly different in terms of costumes, facial expressions and hand movements. It was like a burst of creativity on stage," shares Manasi, a dancer in the crowd.
The latter half of the show was for the music lovers, with a world music ensemble comprising maestros like Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Rakesh Chaurasia and the Farghaly father-son duo (Mohamed and Hamada) from Egypt.
It began with the serene sounds of the oud and qanoon played by the duo and then, each musician joined in, creating enchanting jugalbandis for the intrigued audiences. Even the accompanying performers were versatile in their own way — from Prasanna on guitar to Amrit on kanjeera and Subhankar Banerjee on tabla.
Halfway through the set, Tunisian drummer Ayman Boujlida was called on. He gave an altogether
different energy to the music. The chemistry between the musicians was also fascinating to watch — be it Chaurasia on the flute smiling at Bhat whenever the sound of the mohan veena was produced or the comfortable rapport shared by the Egyptian duo.
"It was lovely how one picked up where another left — each one was trying to find his place in the bigger picture. I realised that one needs to be engrossed in the instrument to know when to enter such a jam. Keeping that in mind, it was even more enjoyably to watch and hear," shares Manohar, an audience
member.
For the first time, dance was also on the cards. Bharatanatyam dancer Alarmel Valli and odissi dancer Madhavi Mudgal performed together to add to the creative richness of the series. The evening began with the two dancers coming together in a unique way — performing their individual contrasting dance styles in the traditional manner, as well as exploring new avenues of dance by trying to collaborate.
"It was the first time that I've seen both these dances together. This is a wonderful way for a common man to see the differences. The coordination between the dancers was excellent," says Pratap, an attendee.
They danced to verses from the Atharva veda that spoke of the glory of nature and through this, depicted the five elements. Their final piece, Samanvaya, crystallised the central idea behind the presentation — with distinctive aspects aligning to explore the subtle nuances of each form.
"It was interesting to watch the two, who were starkly different in terms of costumes, facial expressions and hand movements. It was like a burst of creativity on stage," shares Manasi, a dancer in the crowd.
The latter half of the show was for the music lovers, with a world music ensemble comprising maestros like Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Rakesh Chaurasia and the Farghaly father-son duo (Mohamed and Hamada) from Egypt.
It began with the serene sounds of the oud and qanoon played by the duo and then, each musician joined in, creating enchanting jugalbandis for the intrigued audiences. Even the accompanying performers were versatile in their own way — from Prasanna on guitar to Amrit on kanjeera and Subhankar Banerjee on tabla.
Halfway through the set, Tunisian drummer Ayman Boujlida was called on. He gave an altogether
different energy to the music. The chemistry between the musicians was also fascinating to watch — be it Chaurasia on the flute smiling at Bhat whenever the sound of the mohan veena was produced or the comfortable rapport shared by the Egyptian duo.
"It was lovely how one picked up where another left — each one was trying to find his place in the bigger picture. I realised that one needs to be engrossed in the instrument to know when to enter such a jam. Keeping that in mind, it was even more enjoyably to watch and hear," shares Manohar, an audience
member.