Mesmerized!

Pundit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, a recipient of the Padmashree and a Grammy award winner performed on 23 October, 2007 at IIM Kozhikode, in a concert organized by IIMK’s sub-chapter of SPIC MACAY. A renowned Hindustani music exponent and disciple of Pt. Ravi Shankar, Pt. Bhatt is also the inventor of the Mohan Veena – a fretless, 19-stringed instrument played like a slide guitar. He was joined by Pundit Ram Kumar Mishra, renowned for his mastery of the Tabla and a scion of the ‘Benaras Gharana’.

The concert began with a brief introduction of Pt. Bhatt and Pt. Mishra followed by the lighting of the ceremonial lamp by PGP Chairman, Professor Unnikrishnan. Pt. Bhatt started by telling how music is also a science and how a musician needs to divide every second down to fractions, mentally and play to them.What followed was the most mesmerizing performance, many people in the audience had ever witnessed. Pt. Bhatt started out with Raag Poorvi and went on to play a mélange of Raagas, enthralling everyone with the variety and complexity of notes he played while Pt. Mishra, won the hearts of the people with his skills on the Tabla. The timing of the two together was so perfect that the audience often spontaneously broke into applause. ‘Jugalbandi’ and ‘Sawaal-Jawaab’ were kept to the end when both the masters, in a display of perfect coordination and mastery of their arts teased and tantalized the audience, who wanted more and more.

At the request of everyone present to play more, Pt. Bhatt went on to play his composition, ‘A Meeting By the River’, part of an album he made with slide guitarist Ry Cooder which won the Grammy award for ‘Best World Music Album’ in 1994. At the end of the song, the masters were given a befitting standing ovation.

The concert ended with Professor Unnikrishnan presenting the artists with mementos and a vote of thanks on behalf of IIM Kozhikode for an evening so memorable.