Of Spring & Strings: Welcoming Basanta through hypnotic melody 

Dwiptanil Bhattacharjee played in the Hemant raga from the depth of his heart. He froze still; only his right hand struck the strings and left pulled and bent them. Pandit Subhas Kanti Das leaned in and listened intently, almost as if the music from the sarod was telling him a story. 

Hindustani classical music has a raga for every mood; for veneration, epic duels between archenemies or simply to soothe an aching heart. The genre also has a raga for every season. 

The raga Deepak, one of the six main ragas of Hindustani classical music, is exclusive to Grishma (summer). There is a myth that it was originally created by Shiva and performing it can manifest fire. Likewise, raga Megh is for Barsha (monsoon); raga Bhairav for Sharat (autumn), eventually leading to raga Hindol for basanta (spring). 

Since ancient times, ragas were performed as offerings to the Gods and to welcome the many seasons of the Indian subcontinent. The Wednesday evening, 8 February, at Alliance Française de Dhaka was no different; 'Of Spring & Strings', organised by Music Alliance World Wide, welcomed basanta – which is only a few days away.

Photo: Courtesy

The organisers selected sarod as the instrument of the evening because string instruments are an important part of seasonal ragas. Dwiptanil Bhattacharjee, an exponent of the Maihar gharana, was on the sarod. 

Accompanying him was Pandit Subhas Kanti Das on the tabla. Signs of experience were profuse in his expressions, as he tuned his tabla and once done, he covered them up, as sign of respect.

Once the tuning was out of the way, music flowed. Bhattacharjee began with raga Hemant. Long notes followed one after the other. Pulls and bends on the fragile strings felt tranquil. 

The long notes took a sharp turn and woke up the audience from their hypnotic state. The pace picked up. 

Bhattacharjee was in a trance, his strumming felt like a chant to Saraswati, the Hindu deity of knowledge, music, art, wisdom and learning. All this while he played alone but Das eventually joined in. The music was now complete. Two iconic instruments melded and flowed as one. 

Photo: Courtesy

Das, like Bhattacharjee, began with long deep beats. He too eventually picked up pace as the duo played in harmony. 

At one point Bhattacharjee gave the Pandit the floor to play. A beautiful solo followed, after which Bhattacharjee took charge again. The tabla held the music together, as sarod led the show.

The music intensified even further, Such awestruck was Das at Bhattacharjee that he purposefully hit a note on the daya (right tabla for high notes) that mimicked a clap, since he could not use his hands to applaud at the magnificent display of his musical artistry. 

Bhattacharjee then threw notes at Das, which he mirrored on the tabla. This went on until the two emerged together in perfect harmony. 

When it was finally over, the crowd stood up and gave them a standing ovation. Bhattacharjee  gestured a Pranam to thank the audience. 

"Can I offer another piece if you people have some time left for me?" He asked and the audience concurred.

They played on the raga Maru Bihag as the final act, ending the evening on a perfect note. Towards the end, one among the audience rose up to offer both Bhattacharjee and Das a poem she had written while listening to them.

"I am grateful that all of you came in such a short notice," Bhattacharjee said, as he bowed and took his leave.