Lamakaan

An Evening of Hindustani Classical Music with Aradhana Karhade and Suhas Shastry

19th December, 7:30 pm – ticket Rs. 50/-

An evening of khayal, raag mala and thumri by Hyderabad’s renown Aradhana Karahade and her husband Suhas Shastry on tabla.

Aradhana Karhade

A Khayal singer and music teacher based in Hyderabad is also a student of Vasantrao Rajurkar. She studied under from mother the Late Smt. Usha Karhade then from from her father the Late Dr. N. K. Karhade. She has given many memorable performances in Hyderabad, Maharashtra, Delhi, Belgaum and Mumbai. A student of Akhil Bharatiya Gandharava Maha Vidhyalaya, she stood 1st in the All India Sangeet Alankar Exam. She’s a B-High Grade Artists of All India Radio.

Suhas Shastry

Tabla player and Music teacher, Suhasji has performed with Malini Rajurkar, Aarti Ankalikar, Pandit Jasrag, Rajan and Sajan Mishra and many more. He’s a guru to a whole new generation of tabla players of Hyderabad. He has been awarded Sangeet Alankar M-Music from Akhila Bharatiya Gandharva Maha-Vidyalaya Mandal – Mumbai and Sangeet Prabhakar from Prayag Sangeet Samiti, Allahabad.

Khayal

The khayal is the most elaborate form of presention of the raag. It has three distinct parts: The first part consists of Alaap, where the singer introduces the raag one note at a time until the entire octave is presented. You must savor three things : the notes of special significance (Tonic) that the singer keeps stressing and returning to, the certain combination of notes that give it the distinctive aura and the exploration of these in the build up to where the tabla joins in on the sam (the note that falls along with the tabla’s starting bar). The second part consists of exploring the raag’s nuances through the sthayi (the single main couplet that is repeatedly sung) and the antra (the other couplet that stresses on the higher notes of the octave). The sthayi and antra are interspersed with alaaps of the raag that unfolds the subtleness of the raag. The third part of the khayal quickens the pace to a cresendo of taans (rapidly running notes) that displays the virtuosity of the singer, her control and mastery over the raag.

Raag Maala

Raag Maala is a garland of raags. It is a presentation that presents the essence of a number of raags in a single melodic composition. Raag Maala is a complex and masterly performance as it involves switching between raags. It is highly enlightening as it introduces a number of raags to the audience.

Thumri

Thumri is a light classical composition where the lyrics and it’s meaning is given prominence (as opposed to the Khayal where the raag’s own essence and aura dominate). It rose to prominence in Lucknow at Wajid Ali Shah’s court and later in Varanasi.