“Dhun” - Celebrating Kumar Gandharva
Pandit Kumar Gandharva was an epoch-making musician of the North Indian music tradition of Khayal. He pushed boundaries both within the world of Khayal and beyond it. His Khayal renditions are known for pathbreaking experiments with newer sounds and presentational strategies while retaining the fragrance of traditional ways. At the heart of his stunningly creative output lies his search for, and engagement with, the simplicity and spontaneity of the dhun - a melody, a tune - that is the kernel of every Raga; the dhun also has the power to enrapture and turn into an obsession.
Outside the world of Khayal, his intense engagement with the folk music of Malwa led to curated programmes with that repertoire but also imbued his music with an abandon rarely encountered in the Art Music that is Khayal. His nirguni bhajans have a penetrative impact with an utterly original soundscape he created. He drew from the sound of the wandering minstrels, a sound that he said has an emptiness - sunyata - at its centre. Kumarji’s study of the music of Bal Gandharva from the world of Musical Theatre, his engagement with the poetry of Meera, Surdas and others of the bhakti tradition, his commitment to creating not a Gharana but thinking musicians through his teaching, his deep sensitivity to the beauty and power of the other arts are all celebrated aspects of his persona.
The Performing and Visual Arts division of the School of Arts and Sciences of Ahmedabad University is privileged to offer a tribute to Pandit Kumar Gandharva during his centenary birth year with a year-long series of events. The series is designed to offer a befitting tribute to the master while reflecting the unique vision of the Integrated Arts programme of Ahmedabad University. The events feature artists and scholars from dance, music, architecture, painting, and film offering varied perspectives on his music to benefit students and the larger musical and artistic community.
Ahmedabad University is delighted to invite you to these celebrations.
Schedule of Events*
- September 1, 2023: “Sadgamaya” - Kathak recital by Guru Parvati Dutta
- October 6, 2023: Lecture Demonstration by Dr Keshavchaitanya Kunte
- October 27, 2023: Film Screening
- November 29, 2023: Nirguni Bhajans by Bindhumalini
- January 4, 2024: In Quest of the Dhun - Lecture Demonstration by Pandit Satyasheel Deshpande (in collaboration with Saptak, Ahmedabad)
- February 2, 2024: Music, poetry, and painting with Kumarji’s bandishes at L D Museum, Ahmedabad, 6 pm.
Kumar Gandharva was a brilliant vaggeyakara or composer in the Khayal tradition. In his bandishes words and music come together in wonderful ways. The themes he explored in his compositions are as often everyday vignettes as the traditional nayaka nayika conditions.
In this specially curated event, Professors Rajesh Naidu, and Lakshmi Sreeram of Ahmedabad University will offer an experience of Kumarji’s bandishes in the context of a few miniature paintings from the Ragamala and Nayika Bheda series at the L D Museum. They will respectively bring their expertise as painter, and Hindustani vocalist. This will be preceded by a brief art historical viewpoint of the paintings by the museum curator.
Lakshmi Sreeram is a Hindustani and Carnatic Musician and is also trained in Bharatanatyam. Her academic interests lie in the Philosophy of Art and Aesthetics.
Rajesh Naidu - Rajesh Naidu is an artist and educator. His primary research interest lies in the exploration of the human condition and individual identity through representational painting, while also understanding 'realism' in the contemporary Indian context. - February 25, 2024: Kumar Gandharva Tribute concert by Pandit Brajeshwar Mukherjee (in collaboration with ITC Sangeet Research Academy) at the Auditorium, Ground Floor, GICT Building, 6 pm
Pt. Brajeshwar Mukherjee, accompanied by Ashis Paul (tabla) and Rupashree Bhattacharya (harmonium), will present a Khayal concert as a tribute to Pt. Kumar Gandharva. Pt Mukherjee says “Though I belong to a different gharana I greatly admire Pt. Kumar Gandharva ji’s music.”
He will present some ragas that Kumarji has famously explored and include a nirguni bhajan at the end – a landmark contribution of Kumarji’s.
One of the youngest Gurus of the ITC Sangeet Research Academy, Brajeswar Mukherjee brings together a rare combination of musical acumen and a melodious voice. He has trained under Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty, and has performed across the world. - March 8, 2024: “An Artist's Sensibility: Learnings from Kumar Gandharva” - Lecture Demonstration by Pritam Nakil and Aditi Deo, at the Black Box, 3rd floor, School of Arts and Sciences building, 6 pm.
Whether a musician or a dancer or painter, a complete artist not only gives pleasure through their creations but also enriches individual lives and society through their art and artistic sensibility. Kumar Gandharva played such a role in modern India, influencing a generation of creative practitioners. Alternating between his compositions and the reading of selected writings by and about him, the presentation will offer glimpses into Kumarji's aesthetic philosophy and its wider impact.
Pritam Nakil is a Hindustani classical vocalist who has received rigorous training from Pt. Nathrao Neralkar, Pt. Vijay Sardeshmukh senior disciple of Pt. Kumar Gandharva and Dr.Alka Deo Marulkar. He teaches at KTHM College in Nasik. His Master’s Dissertation at the University of Pune is a ‘Study of Sagun and Nirgun bhajans of sant poets Kabir, Meerabai and Surdas sung and composed by Pandit Kumar Gandharva’.
Professor Aditi Deo is faculty member in the Performing and Visual Arts division at Ahmedabad University and an ethnomusicologist with research interests in Hindustani classical music. - April 5, 2024: “Kumar Gandharva: An Architect’s View”. A talk by Professor Neelkanth Chaya at the Black Box, 3rd floor, School of Arts and Sciences building, 6 pm.
Most cultural and artistic thinking and production in India in the last hundred years or so has been an attempt to find forms and practices that are relevant to contemporary questions while retaining some continuity with the diverse traditions that India is richly endowed with. In responding to contemporary reality, perhaps new forms and practices would be found. Yet one also feels a need to continue and develop further what are already well-developed forms. This is true for architecture as well. It is in this sense that Kumar Gandharva’s approach offers inspiring and powerful discoveries that might be of use. This talk will attempt to discuss and demonstrate this.
Neelkanth Chhaya is an architect and academician based at Ahmedabad. He has taught for many years at CEPT University Ahmedabad, and is currently associated with the Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology, where he holds the UNESCO Chair in Sustainability Heritage & Livelihoods. He has been keenly interested in Kumar Gandharva’s music since childhood.
*The scheduling of the events is subject to change.
Please register here to get updates about the events.
