Review of Taal Shringar
by Ojasi Sukhatankar

Who doesn’t know Ustad Allarakha? The great legend of Indian classical music, Ustad Allarakha is revered not only for his impeccable compositions but also for according the art of  the  tabla,  a global dimension. The Allarakha Foundation celebrated its ninth anniversary this year, presenting ‘Taal Shringar’, a concert of classical kathak dance and percussion music at the Southbank Centre, London. A tapestry of rich and diverse music and rhythm, Taal Shringar  paid homage to the legend that night with the packed audience revelling in the nostalgia of a scintillating range of traditional compositions.

The curtain went up to an invocation of Lord Ganesha by the students of Encee Academy and Ankh dance school. Then in came Gauri Sharma Tripathi, the well-known kathak dancer, who presented glimpses of Lucknow gharana. With  queenly grace and adakari, she performed a variety of tukras and parans handed down to her by her mother Padma Sharma who in turn had received this knowledge from the kathak exponents of this gharana: guru Lachhu Maharaj, guru Shambhu Maharaj and Pandit. Mohanrao Kalyanpurkar. Here then was a vivid example of India’s guru-shishya parampara – the historical tradition which sees gurus pass on their knowledge and artistry to successive generations of pupils. This presentation was accompanied by Sanju Sahai on tabla, Surjeet Singh on sarangi, Fida Hussain on harmonium and Padma Sharma herself for padhant.

It was time for Taufiq Qureshi, the youngest son of Ustad Allarakha, to  come on stage to loud applause. Already a celebrity in the music world he gave full rein to his unique style In both his presentations : Shikhar taal (17 beats time-cycle) and Teentaal (16 beats time-cycle), accompanied by sarangi. It was a hugely enjoyable experience to listen to the rendition of bol-tukdas on western drums, contrasting with the traditional tabla rendition, all too familiar to Indian ears. We were treated to a skilful gel of western and Indian aesthetics.

Taufiq’s breath control was amazing that he could create a variety of rhythmic patterns and tempos through sharp and dexterous breathing techniques, that served to embellish the melody.
He drove home a fundamental truth, that the cycle of human life is based on rhythm – from the first breath in fact after birth and he proved it too by illustration.

“Taal Shringar” reminded us of the vast and precious contribution of the great gurus, that their creations stay alive in people’s hearts even to this day;

The second half began with Dhamar taal of 14 beats presented by Uma Dogra, a leading kathak exponent of Jaipur gharana. With the beauty of numerous bandishs composed by the reputed gurus of this gharana Pt. Durgalal and Pt. Sundarprakash, she set an indelible mark for her perfect command of complex rhythms  marked by their spontaneity. She was accompanied by Yogesh Samsi on tabla and Sarita for padhant, along with Surjeet Sing’s sarangi and Fida Hussain’s harmonium. The finale, saw both  dancers, Taufiq Qureshi and Yogesh Samsi create rhythm, melody, beauty and expression of great magnificence in offering their gratitude to the great master Ustad Allarakha. The presence of one more legend of today’s world of Indian classical music - Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, gave the show a stamp of class.

The entire team of dancers, musicians and accompanists to a man and woman impressed those present that ‘Sangeet’ is not just music but a gel of ‘geetam’, ‘vadyam’ and ‘nrityam’ - vocal music, percussion and dance, as is already mentioned in Bharata’s Natyashastra - the ancient scripture on performing arts, written thousands of years ago in India. The kavit where Gauri Sharma Tripathi enacted ‘Daksha Yagna’, the story of Lord Shiva and his consort Parvati, and the thumri where Uma Dogra expressed  love for Lord Krishna through her dance, gave telling evidence that the art of abhinaya (‘natyam’) with its inseparable connection to Indian mythology is equally integral to this musical heritage.

With great pride I would say that “Taal Shringar” reminded us of the vast and precious contribution of the great gurus, that their creations stay alive in people’s hearts even to this day; their compositions taught and danced with unfading freshness to carry the core aesthetics of the art-form irrespective of cultures and the advance of modernity across the globe. In my considered opinion, a disciple cannot imbibe these classical art-forms in the absence of an inheritance of this traditional knowledge running through his/her veins in the first place. To conclude: if there was a single message that “Taal Shringar” drove home, it was the message that the Indian heritage is a ‘lived experience’ not something to be picked up from the shelves of an archives!

Ojasi Sukhatankar , trained in Kathak under Guru Rohini Bhate in Pune, India. Herself a choreographer, she has given Kathak performances in the UK and abroad.

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