Being born into a lineage embedded in Indian classical music, Santoor Maestro Abhay Rustum Sopori got easily accustomed to this environment from early days.
His father, the late Santoor player, Pandit Bhajan Sopori, had then enriched him with this food for thought: ‘Revolutions don’t happen in palaces so get to the ground and make a difference. Secondly, there is no turning back from this path so tread ahead carefully.’
For Abhay, these became commandments that he abided with every concert, including the upcoming one at SaMaPa Sangeet Sammelan.
In its 15th edition now, about 65 professional musicians, along with 35 students from different schools of Delhi/NCR, will perform the Saraswati Vandana at the start of every program.
A constant factor from the maiden edition to now is the intention to make this a platform for both young and seasoned artistes.
“If we see a promising artiste, we get them on board. The lineage, years of practice, and number of performances becomes secondary,” says Abhay.
This thought is visible through the virtuosity of artistes’ lineup: Waseem Ahmad Bhat from Sopore, Kashmir, Debasmita Bhattacharya (sarod), Hafiz Khan (sitar) and Piu Mukherjee (vocals).
The crowning jewel is the Swarlaya Samwad, a presentation of six young tabla players from different tabla gharanas.
Pt Bhajan Sopori, the only classical musician in India to have composed music for more than 4,000 songs in many languages including Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, will immerse himself into ragas that aren’t usually performed.
“Pt Vishwambhar Nath Mishra, the mahant (chief priest) of Sankat Mochan Mandir in Varanasi, will be performing in Delhi as a first. After many years, we have a dance recital on the cards. You’ll see Kathak duo Guru Nalini and Kamalini (Asthana), taking the stage.”
The festival’s visual arts feature adds another dimension. There’ll be a painting exhibition by artists from Jammu and Kashmir who are studying art at the J&K Academy of Art, Culture & Languages.
Additionally, Abhay and his family are working to create a better cultural and educational policy especially in J&K. In fact, his father, Pt Bhajan was the only classical artist to visit Kashmir to revive the classical arts post 13 years of militancy in the valley.
Abhay’s top priority now is to save the gharana style of music from perishing, especially recounting how he’s seen artists visiting his father and crying for help.
Public apathy and lack of initiative by the gen-next to carry forward the tradition has became a catalyst for Abhay, who now, through this festival and parallel projects, is trying to do the best he can.
On: November 19-20 At: IHC On: November 22-24 At: Kamani Auditorium