For the connoisseurs, Sunday evening was dedicated to a mehfil featuring Hindustani classical performances by Trilochan Kampli on the tabla; Satish Kolli on the harmonium and vocalist Kumar Mardur. It was organised by Under the Raintree, a platform created to encourage various forms of art by Sandhya Mendonca.
Starting off the evening was a tabla and harmonium jugalbandi by Trilochan and Satish. Trilochan played teen taal with compositions consisting of peshkar and a few kaydas. He also played a slow tempo of teen taal and dhrut teen taal played with gath, chakradhar and taran. Teen taal is a composition based on a rhythm cycle of 16 beats. Unlike the panch taal, the teen taal allows the percussionist freedom of expression and his choice of arrangements.
The strong beats of the tabla reverberated in the venue, while the harmonium provided a constant melodic relief along with the fast-paced momentum of the tabla. Trilochan made the performance interesting by providing little snippets of information, along with his performance which lightened the mood. It is widely misunderstood that percussionists should make a lot of noise. Years ago it was not so. The teen taal he demonstrated, in both a slow and fast tempo, marvelled everyone with the stark differences in the musical effects, thus proving the point. The dhrut laya was furious and vibrant, characteristic of the composition. Surela was performed at a slow and fast pace showcasing a uniform progression with sudden changes in between. Chakradhar consisting of 16 beats was played three times and the last beat coincided with the first beat which was a speciality as Trilochan explained, that most taals are played only for two rounds. The performance ended with Trilochan dedicating his performance to his guru as is the tradition in Hindustani music.
In the second half, the audience was treated to Priyadhanashri, Megamalhar and a vachana in Bhairavi raga with the song Chakorangi chandramana by talented vocalist Kumar Mardur. The accompanists were in perfect sync and, although, the performance went on late into the night, the vocalist held the audience in a trance.
Mardur started performing at the young age of 12 and has been teaching music at ITC Sangeet Research Academy in Kolkata since 2011. He has performed on various platforms including the prestigious Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav in Pune.
Trilochan started learning Hindustani classical tabla at the age of nine and had his first performance on All India Radio aged 12 which remains his most memorable concert till date. He studied under the tutelage of various gurus, most notably among them Basavaraj Bendigeri who is the senior-most exponent in Farukhabad gharana for seven years. Satish started off with learning vocal music but found himself inclined towards the harmonium and has been playing the humble instrument for 20 years. He has played with music stalwarts like Pandit Maniprasad and Pandit Madhavagudi.