As a part of the 'Every Friday Cultural Evening Programme', the Indian Council for Cultural Relations recently presented a delightful sarod recital by Mysore's Vijetha Anathi, a Hindustani artiste of Maihar Gharana, at Yavanika auditorium.
A disciple of sarod maestro Pandit Rajeev Taranath, 33-year-old Vijetha is well known for his skillful fingering while rendering the swarasadhana, alap, jod, jhaalaa and laya vinyasa. For the performance that lasted almost two hours, he was accompanied on stage by a 24-year-old tabla player, Milind.
"The ICCR always acts as an important and much needed platform for smaller artistes to be heard. The number of people who show up may not be many. But those who do are genuinely interested in reviving a dying art form," says Vijetha after the show.
And he was right in saying so, considering you don't hear of too many sarod players these days. For those who attended, it was a beautiful performance, where one was absorbed by the honey-coated melodies of the instrument. "It was lovely! It was rather unusual to hear the sarod at Yavanika but the instrument was used to perfection by the young musician," says Ittira Antony, a member of the audience. "It's a nice venue to listen to such music since it's usually never crowded and it has a homely atmosphere. I only wish the sound system was better," he adds.
Vijetha showed his talents extremely well and played the sarod almost like a guitar at parts with his quick finger movements, heavy riffs and the changing tempo that seemed to depend on his state of mind. His eyes were shut almost throughout the show, reflecting the passion he feels towards creating the music.
Still, not everyone in the audience was pleased with the performance. "I didn't find him or the combination of him and the tabla player particularly good. But he's young and so we can't expect an Amjad Ali Khan out of him," said a member of the audience.
A disciple of sarod maestro Pandit Rajeev Taranath, 33-year-old Vijetha is well known for his skillful fingering while rendering the swarasadhana, alap, jod, jhaalaa and laya vinyasa. For the performance that lasted almost two hours, he was accompanied on stage by a 24-year-old tabla player, Milind.
"The ICCR always acts as an important and much needed platform for smaller artistes to be heard. The number of people who show up may not be many. But those who do are genuinely interested in reviving a dying art form," says Vijetha after the show.
And he was right in saying so, considering you don't hear of too many sarod players these days. For those who attended, it was a beautiful performance, where one was absorbed by the honey-coated melodies of the instrument. "It was lovely! It was rather unusual to hear the sarod at Yavanika but the instrument was used to perfection by the young musician," says Ittira Antony, a member of the audience. "It's a nice venue to listen to such music since it's usually never crowded and it has a homely atmosphere. I only wish the sound system was better," he adds.
Vijetha showed his talents extremely well and played the sarod almost like a guitar at parts with his quick finger movements, heavy riffs and the changing tempo that seemed to depend on his state of mind. His eyes were shut almost throughout the show, reflecting the passion he feels towards creating the music.
Still, not everyone in the audience was pleased with the performance. "I didn't find him or the combination of him and the tabla player particularly good. But he's young and so we can't expect an Amjad Ali Khan out of him," said a member of the audience.