Its all about Rains & Ragas

The first wave of monsoon concerts showers in ajmer it has so far seen sobre international sufi festival organized by the divine abode.The two day long monsoon festival held at Gallery Al Ikhlaas at historic Foysagar in Ajmer was awesome with cloud-busting notes of Miyan ki Malhaar and the somber Megh .This weekend saw a pure classical performance by sitar maestro Dr.Sudeep Rai along with Ustad Amjad Khan on tabla, showcased a perfect jugalbandi between the duo,captivating the audience for nearly two hours . Indian classical music and dance are highly sensitive to the state of nature,raga reflects the essence of the season “just close your eyes and sense the swaras and you see how does it work”says sitarist Dr.Sudeep Rai who himself hails from seniya gharana of Indian classical music the discendends of Miyan Tansen.The monsoon season have been beautifully depicted in traditional compositions using both literature as well as swaras of raga. The two day long festival showcased paintings by Michael Templine from Germany, Dr.Sudeep Rai from New Delhi, Begum Gulsha from Bangalore and Archana Tela From Ajmer. A large painting on monsoon colours was created as a back drop for perfect stage setup by Begum Gulshaa ,chairperson divine abode and the organizer of the festival. The malhaar theme itself draws audience to classical concerts .They may or may not get the finer nuances of the combinations of swaras and scale but it is impossible not to be moved by the grandeur of india classical music. www.sudeeprai.com