A potpourri of musical performances at HCL Concerts

Noida April 8 (IANS) Some breathtaking performances of prolific musicians coupled with a tribute to late vocalist Kishori Amonkar through a soothing instrumental piece set the curtains open for the second edition of HCL concerts.

With all eyes were hooked on to the stage in an ambience filled with joy the evening opened with a range of performances -- and each of the renditions appealed to the senses of the audience. There were jugalbandis one after another. It began with the sitar and tabla followed by sitar and drums Mridangam with Sitar and lastly with guitar. And then much to the expectations of the audience here all instrumental pieces combined to create a soothing fusion. HCL Concerts is deeply rooted in Indian classical music and has emerged as a unique platform for Indian classical performing arts encouraging numerous artists and performers. Every generation brings with it its new sets of rules of purity tradition and standards. That does not mean that the old is totally lost but yes we have lost so many precious gifts in the form of Kishori Amonkarji that it suddenly feels like this void will never be filled Niladri Kumar an Indian classical and fusion musician told IANS. Stalwarts like these are primarily the reason why even our generation is even learning and playing music he added. The prolofic musician who has worked on several popular bollywood projects like Bunty aur Babli and Gangster further impressed upon the traditional guru-shishya parampara and said that this practise helps in building inner qualities -- respect modesty sincerity devotion towards music and guru as well as its listeners -- among the students. On the other hand Padma Shri awardee and tabla player Vijay Ghate said that one can teach grammer and techniques of music to aspiring musicians but one should be born with the sense of beats and tone. The sense of beats and tone one should have from the birth. You can teach grammer and techniques but these are the things that one should have it from the birth Ghate said. Among other leading musicians who performed were Gino Banks a drummer; Agnelo Fernandes a keyboardist; and the youngest among the all Rhythm Shaw a guitarist. Apart from Noida HCL Concerts is also taking place simultaneously in the national capital and Gurugram. The three-day three-city event will conclude on Sunday. --IANS madhu/ss/vm