Young sitar player Dhruv Bedi, disciple of Pt. Budhaditya Mukherjee, sometimes feels a wave of melancholy drench his soul. His talent is meant for a discerning ear, and he does get a chance every now to play for his patrons who love his music, but not as much as he would like to. At such times he wonders why there aren’t more rewarding opportunities that can validate his efforts. The questions has remained unanswered for a while now; however, his optimism has allowed him to continue performing. With his upcoming show as part of the Habitat Concert Series, a platform he says that encourages young artistes to show their creative strengths, he’s more than happy to entertain the audience with his sublime journey of mellifluous melodies.
Accompanying him will be young vocalist Anirban Bhattacharyya, a disciple of Pt Ajoy Chakrabarty. Having performed at the centre before, he’s looking forward to perform with Bedi in showcasing their classical best. “It’s an honour to perform at IHC as they are the biggest promoters of classical music and understand the need to promote young talent,” says Bhattacharyya. “I will perform a Carnatic-influenced raga, that’s popular in North India called rag abhogi, followed by Benaras-style Thumri in raag tilang, and a bandish thumri in the same. But, one composition that’s my favourite is albela sajan in raag ahir bhairavi. I have even done a fusion song with it that’s scheduled to release in February.”
Bedi, on the other hand, understands that for the uninitiated, classical music could be a bit of a daunting task to understand, nonetheless, he believes strongly, at least in the case of the sitar that he plays, if one listens to the deep aalap, beautiful taans with jhalas, they’ll be able to appreciate
effortlessly.”