‘Bolava Vitthal’, an evening of abhangs (songs sung in praise of Vitthal of Pandharpur) was organised by Pancham Nishad on the occasion of Ashadhi Ekadashi at Chowdaiah Memorial Hall in Bengaluru recently. It showcased the inexhaustible wealth of poetry of saints and mystics such as Gyaneshwar, Tukaram, Eknath, Namdev and Chokha Mela.
The 14the edition of the festival featured two renowned Hindustani vocalists — Devaki Pandit and Jayateerth Mevundi. Both the vocalists gave a fine start to the festival with a lyrical enunciation of ‘Madhura Bhakti’ through the familiar gajar — ‘Jai Jai Ramakrishna Hari’ in the evening raag Yaman, embellishing the incantatory chant with creative improvisations. The vibrant chorus comprising young musicians Lalith Mevundi, Srivatsa, Satwik, Aradhana, Madhulika and Samhita added to the appeal. Nikhil Phatak on the tabla , Sukhad Munde on the pakhawaj, Shadj Godkhindi on the bansuri, Vyasmurthy Katti on the samvadini and Suryakant Munde on the manjira created a hypnotic effect.
During her solo rendition, Devaki Pandit paid glowing tributes to her two gurus Pt Jitendra Abhisheki and Kishori Amonkar by choosing to render the abhangs which they had popularised. She commenced her singing with the sant Eknath’s ‘Ya pandariche sukh pahat dola’ in raag Yaman. It describes the feeling experienced by the devotee when he beholds Vitthal in Pandharpur. As Devaki’s voice traversed through the higher octaves of Yaman in this abhang set to Deepchandi taal of 14 beats. Nikhil Phatak and Sukhad Munde were at their ebullient best.
Devaki’s prowess on raagdari sangeet was discernible in her rendition of the abhang ‘Amha nakale jnana’ composed by the Mahar saint of 14th century, Chokha Mela. In her delineation, she effortlessly touched upon raag Desh, Tilak Kamod, Brundavani Sarang and Miyan ki Malhar, weaving a rich musical tapestry for this abhang sung often by Pt Jitendra Abhisheki. Improvisations of Shadj Godkhindi on the bansuri stood out.
Devaki’s surprised the audience by taking up a Purandarasa composition ‘Murutiyane nilliso madhava’, which was one of the signature pieces of Pt Bhimsen Joshi. Vyasmurhy Katti’s samvadini accompaniment in raag Kaafi had an alluring expressivity. In her passionate rendition of another Chokha Mela abhang ‘Abir gulal udhalita rang natha ghari naache majjha sakha Panduranga’, where the sant has a vision of his deity Vitthala dancing and laments about his inability to enter the temple as he is from a lower caste. Devaki’s exploration of the emotions of bhakti and exultation through raags Deshkar and Bhoop made it a sublime experience for the listeners.
Celebrating the songs of the sants | Photo Credit: Courtesy: Pancham Nishad
Devaki’s next took up the rare abhang by Muktabai, the younger sister of Sant Jnaneshwar, ‘Mazhavari daya kara taati ugada Jnaneshwara’ had a transcendental glow as she essayed through flashes of raag Lalit Pancham interspersed with raag Marwa. Her singing of ‘Sant bhar pandarit’ in raag Chandrakauns had a haunting quality, and was marked by sawal-jawab between Devaki and Shadj. Devaki concluded with the popular ‘Bolava Vitthala, Pahawa Vitthala , Karava Vitthala Jeeva Bhava’ set to raag Marwa thaat ka vibhas.
Jayateerth Mevundi began with the Sant Namdev abhang ‘Pandaricha vaasa chandrabhage snan’ in raag Abhogi Kanada, recreating its grand rendition by Pt Bhimsen Joshi. Aditya Oak on the samvadini enhanced the lyrical appeal of the composition. Acquiescing graciously to audience farmayish, Jayateerth sang the Kannada composition ‘Vittala pidi enna kaiyya, Vittala Pandhariraya’.
With his evocative delineation of raags Bhimpalasi and Dhani, Jayateerth mesmerised the audience with complex gamaks. His rendition of ‘Hari vittala aparampara, akar, makaar, kariti ha vichar’ with flashes of Pahadi was a spirited presentation. This was followed by the immensely popular ‘Tatitkodi nibhakaya jagannatha vittalayya vittalayya’, a tongue twister rendered flawlessly with finesse, in hues of Shuddh Kalyan.
The climax was the piece de resistance — Purandaradasa’s ‘Bhagyada Lakshmi Baramma’. Jayateerth began with a sonorous alaap in raag Shree and plunged into the expanse of Marwa Thaat Ka Vibhas raag and the famous composition on Lakshmi, the consort of Vitthal. The resplendent rendition was ably supported by a vocal chorus and a tani avartan by Nikhil and Sukhad with the audience joining with the chorus to sing ‘Bhagyada Lakshmi Baramma’.
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