It is a generally recognized truth that one of the prime duties of any Shastriya Sangeet artiste to his or her art, is to pass it n, as best as he is able, to talented practitioners of the next generation. Teaching has always been perceived as a hallowed activity for classical musicians. This is because the classical music of our country is passed on from one generation to the next not through written texts, but in face-to-face interactions between teacher and student for years, even decades at a time. The nuances of this music, and all the minutiae of learning this performing art, can only be taught in ‘live’ interactions.

Of great importance, too, is the performance itself. No student can grow as a performer, even early on in his career, unless he is exposed to adequate stage performances at frequent intervals. The sincere guru sees to it that the students are groomed for the stage, at levels suited to their age.

Given these two parameters, it was a pleasure to discover that Pragyan Barua, who is widely regarded as one of the finest Hindusthani Shastriya Sangeet performers of this region today, has evolved into a competent teacher, as well. ‘Sanchari’, the institution run by him and his wife, Geetanjali, put up an impressive show on the evening of July 12, at the Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra auditorium, Guwahati. This evening was fittingly dedicated to Pragyan’s primary Guru, Sangeetjyoti Birendra Kumar Phukan, the late doyen of Shastriya Sangeet in Assam who was responsible for moulding several important musical talents of the region during his lifetime.

Considering that the students ranged from tiny toddlers to youths, of both genders, it was creditable that each item was so smoothly presented, sometimes by scores of students at a time. Compositions in various raags, replete with taans and sargams, were tunefully sung by the children who seemed to enjoy every minute of their time on stage. Also included were a Bharatanatyam performance, and a tabla lahara by Nitool Goswami and Tirthendu Bhattacharyya, who are well known artistes of the city. The highlight of the evening was a four-cornered presentation in Megh by noted artistes Pragyan Barua, Sanjoy Saikia (vocals) Tarun Kalita (sarod) and Pankaj Sarma (santoor) The evening ended with a crisp taraana in Goud Malhar, concluding with a Santi Path in which most of the students participated.

The show was marked by slick stage management. It was evident, also, that a great deal of thought had gone into making each composition as suitable for the young performers as possible, in ways that matched their best current levels of performance. This, together with the tuneful presentations by the students, showed the effort that the teachers have put into educating the children. Going by this show, ‘Sanchari’ will soon be producing performers of calibre. One certainly hopes so!

Mitra Phukan