The city’s cultural heritage and its passion for classical music was in full showing at Raja Rampal Singh Park here in the dawn hours of Sunday.
‘Seher’, a concert organised as part of the Sanatkada festival on its Day 3, breathed life into the early hours with a spell of genius from Ustad Irfan Muhammad Khan, the doyen of the Lucknow Shahjahanpur Sarod Gharana, and his counterpart from the Lucknow Tabla Gharana Ustad Ilmas Hussain Khan.
Highlighting the deep connection between music and the city, Prof. Mandavi Singh, vice-chancellor of Bhatkhande Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya (BSV), described Lucknow as not merely a city of bricks and stones, but a living legacy of melodies.
Following this, Ustad Irfan Khan recalled his roots, mentioning his ancestral bond with Bhatkhande. He said his grandfather, Ustad Sakhawat Khan, and his father served the institution for a long time. “I spent seven to eight years in Lucknow learning the nuances of music under my father’s guidance,” said Khan.
He began his performance with Raag Bhairav. As Ustad Irfan Khan struck the strings of the sarod in ‘vilambit laya’ (slow tempo), the morning silence grew even deeper. As the daylight increased, he presented a ‘drut bandish’ (fast composition) in Bhairav, which was a creation of his great-grandfather, Ustad Shafayat Khan. Subsequently, the musical session turned towards Raag Bhairavi, showcasing a wonderful harmony of ‘alap’, ‘vilambit’, and ‘drut’ along with ‘jhala’.
Ustad Ilmas Khan complemented the sarod with the rhythmic beats of his tabla. Embodying the sophistication of the Lucknow Gharana, he demonstrated his mastery through ‘uthan’, ‘kayada’, ‘rela’, ‘tihayi’, and ‘rang’
{{/usCountry}}Ustad Ilmas Khan complemented the sarod with the rhythmic beats of his tabla. Embodying the sophistication of the Lucknow Gharana, he demonstrated his mastery through ‘uthan’, ‘kayada’, ‘rela’, ‘tihayi’, and ‘rang’
{{/usCountry}}Later in the afternoon, visitors relished a variety of delicacies prepared by home cooks at the Sunday Home Cooked Food Festival. Also, a discussion on ‘City as Impression: Art, Archive and Lucknow’ was held, where Dilnavaz Mehta, an art historian and cultural researcher, said that her work engages deeply with material culture and visual archives, tracing how cities like Lucknow have been represented across centuries through art and print.
In another session ‘Ek Khaas Mulaqaat’, Carlyle McFarland, Bulbul Godiyal and Siddharth Sanyal were in conversation with Adity Chakravarti.
In the evening, Borno Ananyo performed ‘Pakhi Toi Pakha Mele’, ‘Majhi Song’ and ‘Man Tore Ke Ba Paar Kore’.