BENGALURU: Entertaining guests with art and music has been an integral part of hospitality in the country for centuries. ‘Jalsa - The Magical Salon Concert’ series, started by voice coach Shilpi Das Chohan, aims to recreate an experience where artistes perform in the living room and viewers are treated like house guests, giving a space to the two to interact up close.
“The irony is that the ethos of hospitality too is becoming diluted. Socialising is becoming limited to social media. Yet, the fact remains that art lovers seek genuine artistes and the genuine artistes seek a loving, appreciative audience to continue propagating art,” says the voice artiste who runs Shilpi’s Voice & Visuals. The events started by her are scheduled on the last Saturday of every month.
The four-hour sessions (the next one is on Jan. 30) are divided into two parts, either a solo artiste or a group performance, depending upon the theme, and an interaction. The upcoming session will see performances by Carnatic vocalists, the Kabadi Sisters Saraswati and Sonam; Hindustani vocalist Rupali Sen; violinist D R Raghavendra; mridangam artiste D R Chethan Murthy; and vocalist-pianist Nilanjan Sen.
“Jalsa literally means a fete, fair, session, a group of people together in a place, or gathering that includes a ball or a banquet. Our jalsa is a step towards reviving the culture of baithaks, relaxed evenings in the company of like-minded people and up-close with extraordinary talents, in a safe, private and warm home ambience.
You can never experience this in an auditorium,” explains Chohan, who hosts the events in her living room. The seating arrangement is kept simple with sofas, chairs and benches for the elderly, while the youngsters sit on dhurries laid on the floor. “There’s a break in between the session for the artistes and
audience to interact over homemade food catered by women entrepreneurs who prepare the food in their own kitchens,” she adds.
The artiste lineup is curated through recommendations from sample audiences. “It’s a place to showcase all genres of performing arts, like music, dance, drama, poetry recitation, story-telling, stand-up comedy, etc,” she says. While it is only on invitation basis at the moment, it will soon be open to anyone. “Participants would be educated about the concept, and requested to share their profiles with photographs and the links to their social media handles. Once the screening is satisfactory, they would be asked to pay a fixed amount to include their names in the list of guests. This money goes towards paying the artistes and managing other expenses,” she says.