Sarod concert enthralls Atlantans

Music lovers of Atlanta gathered to hear a concert
by Tejendra Narayan Majumdar, the Grammy nominated
sarod player. His two and a half hour concert was
at the Student Center Theatre at Georgia Tech on Sunday
evening, April 29, 2012. Accompanied on tabla by
Arup Chattopadhyay, Pandit Majumdar gave a soulful
rendering of melodious ragas. The concert was organized
by the Indian Classical Musical Society (ICMS) of
Atlanta under the leadership of Dr. Sham Navathe and
members Kakali Bandyopdhyay, Shekhar Pendalwar,
and Aruna Navathe. Pandit Majumdar was on a 37-day
U.S. tour.

Clad in a peach embroidered silk kurta, black churidar
and a black stole draped on his shoulders, Pandit
Majumdar captivated the audience with the fascinating
display of his fingers on the sarod. His performance of
raga Mishra Pilu during the second half of the concert
transported the spectators into the bhakti atmosphere
with his fingers moving with dexterity on the strings,
presenting the bhajans “Vaishnav Jan To Tene Kahiye Je,
Peer Parayi Jaane Re” and “Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram,
Patit Pawan Sita Ram.” Earlier he played Alap Jhor and
Gat in Raga Marwa.

Majumdar is from the Senia Maihar School of Music,
whose most notable exponents are Ustad Ali Akbar
Khan and Pt Ravi Shankar. After eighteen years under
the tutelage of Ustad Bahadur Khan, during which time
he won various awards, he later trained under Ustad Ali
Akbar Khan.

A disciple of tabla maestro Pt. Shankar Ghosh, Arup
Chattopadhyay, too, gave an excellent account of his
hand work by cutting out gem-like syllables of rhythm
and blending filigree on the right hand drum with the
depth of the left one.

Pranab Lahiri, an art lover from Atlanta remarked,
“I enjoyed watching Pt. Majumdar’s concert immensely.
I am in Atlanta since 1976 and had the privilege of witnessing
Panditji’s concert way back in the 1980’s in Augusta
where he had performed as a young tabla player
and had accompanied another artist.”

During an interview, Pt. Majumdar revealed that he
had been nominated for the Grammy Awards last year
for his composition for an album, “Soul Call—Om Namoh
Narayanay,” sung by Chandrika Krishnamurthy Tandon. “In the Fall of 2012, I will be in New York working with
[this same] singer,” he said.

Replying to a question as to which place he got the
maximum response, Pt. Majumdar said he enjoyed performing
in Canada and the USA where audiences have
ample knowledge of classical music on account of his
Guru’s and Pt Ravi Shankar’s contribution in popularizing
Indian classical music by means of their concerts
over the last 55 years. On being asked if he planned the
sequence of the ragas to be performed before a concert
Majumdar categorically stated that nothing is preplanned.
“I play a raga
based on the mood of
the audience and the
atmosphere in the theater.
We are prepared to
make the audience happy.”
When asked as to
with which tabla player
he enjoyed performing
the most, pat replied the
maestro, “I have had the
privilege of performing
with all the maestros like
Pt. Krishna Maharajh,
Zakir Hussain (playing
with him for the last 15
years), Shankar Ghosh,
and Swapan Chaudhri,
and I enjoy performing
with all of them.” He
attributed his success
to the teachings of his
Guru and the blessings
of the Almighty.

Majumdar said that
sarod has a great future,
and his disciple Pratik Srivastava is a bright and outstanding
student who is currently performing at a concert
in France.

During another tête-à-tête before the concert, tabla
player Arup Chattopadhyay mentioned that he and Pt.
Majumday trained together since childhood in Kolkata.

The breathtaking concert was organized in cooperation
with Aarohi, the student organization of Georgia
Tech supporting Indian classical music.