When an experience lingers way beyond the event, it is worth sharing! I am talking about my experience, two weeks ago, of Aikyam – an enthralling jugalbandhi of Carnatic and Hindustani music by Lalit Subramanian, Sameep Kulkarni and their accompanying artistes under the aegis of the venerable Poona Sangeetha Sabha.
Jugalbandhis are not rare, but this was unique for many reasons. For starters I loved the eclectic mix of North and South in the audience – a first for me in the Sabha. The verve and enthusiastic demeanour of the artistes on stage was lovely to behold. It was like a group of friends jamming together, and we were privy to it. They communicated with one another not only in music but through eye-contact, smiles and gesticulations. And they vibed with us, the audience. Shankarnarayan’s vigourous mridangam evoked child-like feelings.
For me this set the tone for the well curated three hour musical experience, split into 3 standalone yet integrated sub-sets. I am a rasika not burdened by technicalities and so could just flow with my emotions. I have always admired Lalit but Sameep was a first time for me. His sitar was a nice combination of melody and rhapsody. When Lalit took over, I was in familiar territory of a soothing Carnatic evening. And then the grand finale!
The choice by the artistes of a familiar and popular raga allowed me to immerse myself in their offering. I got fully engrossed in the Aikyam of vocal, sitar, violin, tabla and mridangam. Initially the grouping of the musicians was on traditional lines of Hindustani sitar and tabla, and the Carnatic vocal, violin, mridangam. But as the event progressed boundaries were broken with anyone accompanying anyone – Wow!! The percussion jugalbandi transported me to a different level
The memory of that evening is so evergreen that I don’t feel sharing my experience is outdated
Listening to Lalit’s introduction, I was struck by an idea which I am placing as a request to the Sabha and Lalit – will we be able to see a jugalbandhi of Carnatic and Jazz in the near or far future?
Jayalakshmi Gopal
