An ensemble that revisits Pt. Ravi Shankar’s iconic repertoire

Pt. Ravi Shankar turned every raga into a radiant journey, making India’s music resonate on the global stage. To honor his legacy and  memory, the Delhi-based Ravi Shankar Centre presented its annual festival at its premises in Chanakyapuri, a diplomatic enclave established in the 1950s. The Centre, which was Pt. Ravi Shankar’s home, comes alive during its annual three-day festival. Held outdoors in the aesthetically-designed amphitheatre, the event was an intimate affair for invited audience.

(From left) Mridangist B.C. Manjunath, flautist Ravichandra Kollur, Pt. Shubhendra Rao, sarodist Aayush Mohan, violinist Padma Shankar, and tabla artiste Anubrata Chatterji. 
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Special Arrangement

The highlight of this edition was the Pt. Ravi Shankar ensemble, put together by wife Sukanya Shankar and his senior disciple Pt. Shubhendra Rao. The ensemble featuring six musicians — sitarist Shubhendra, sarodist Aayush Mohan, violinist Padma Shankar, flautist Ravichandra Kollur, mridangist B.C. Manjunath and tabla artiste Anubrata Chatterji. Starting mid-March, the ensemble will embark on a multi-city tour across the U.S.

Talking about the ensemble, Sukanya said, “It wasn’t easy selecting compositions from Pt. Ravi Shankar’s vast repertoire”.

The festival was conceived by Anoushka Shankar and Sukanya Shankar
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Special Arrangement

The 90-minute event started with a recording of the sitarist singing the Sanskrit shloka ‘Guru Brahma, Guru Vishnu….’ in raag Bhupali. “ Guruji had a pitch-perfect voice. When he sang, I would put my sitar down and just listen to him,” recalled Shubhendra.

The ensemble moved on to present a piece on Ganesha in raag Aiman performed at Pt. Ravi Shankar’s concert at the Kremlin in 1988. It also had violin and flute solo segments, that paved the way for a sitar-sarod jugalbandi in raag Jogeshwari, again a composition by the sitar maestro. This was followed by his film composition ‘Jaane kaise sapno mein’ (from the 1960 film: Anuradha). It rendered beautifully by Padma.

The ensemble was curated by Sukanya Shankar and Pt. Shubhendra Rao
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Special Arrangement

Raag Manjh Khamach, a significant part of Pt. Ravi Shankar’s music, was an apt choice for the occasion. With the next piece, ‘Fire night’, the evening transitioned into a lively interaction among the mridangam, tabla and kanjira. Panditji was among the first musicians to give prominence to his accompanying percussionists during solo concerts. The event closed with his composition ‘Spring’, based on raag Bahar, from his dance-drama Ghanashyam. Each piece seamlessly flowed into the other.

“Working for this ensemble has been an emotional journey for me, bringing back memories of how Panditji created each piece, and my forty-year association with him,” said Shubhendra Rao.