An Evening of Lilting Music- Neeta delights

It was a pleasure to attend "Gulistan", an evening of enchanting melodies and divine rythms by Neeta Soorma at Gurgaon's new cultural hub Epicenter.

Neeta is a disciple of Smt. Savita Devi and an ‘A’ grade artiste of the All India Radio, Delhi in Vocal Light Classical music as well as in the Ghazals category.

A distinguished dilettante of music and an accomplished vocalist, she did not disappoint.The renditions were in the Poorab-ang, that is the Benaras style of Thumri, Dadra, Kajri, Chaiti and Bhajan.

Accompanying Neeta on stage were Ustad Ghulam Sabir on the Sarangi, Ustad Ballu Khan Warsi on the Harmonium, Ustad Salim on the Tabla, and Shri Razak Ali on the Tanpura.

Neeta began the evening with a famous Thumri—Basuriyaa ab nahi bajao shyam…
In this thumri, the words nahi bajao were presented in various shades of emotions; from request to cajole, pleading to mild anger. Even though in the literal sense, Radha is asking Lord Krishna not to play his murli, inside her heart, she wants him to go on and on.

Thumri as the music lovers would know is a song of love, romance, passion, longing. Essentially an amorous mood of music, it came into prominence in the later half of the 19th century. The moods range from romance to apathy, from frolic to forbidden, from free-spirited to spiritual.

"Thumri is like an abstract art of expression and improvisation, like a bouquet where you have different types of flowers but each asthetically blending. Thumri is like a painting where you use different colours and strokes to create a beautiful work of art. Poorab-ang Thumri is deeply influenced by brijbhasha and the gayaki derives its spiritual inspiration from the bhakti cult, which probably explains the repeated themes of love and separation of Radha and Krishna", Neeta told right2review.com

Thumri was followed by a Dadra just as a Chota Khayal follows a Bada Khayal or a Vilambit Khayal. Dadra is one of the immensely popular styles owing to its arresting spell. Neeta’s next spell in the form of a dadra, Souten Ghan Na Ja... is a traditional composition, extremely popular with music lovers for over a 100 years.

Neeta dedicated dadra in the loving memory of Ma Siddheshwari Devi. This being one of her rarest gems. Tarpe Bin Balam Mora Jiya… surely delighted the listeners.

Neeta added from the stage, "This one is a surprise for my Guru. The practice that we follow prior to any event is that we sit together and decide on the kind of compositions that are to be presented. However, as I wanted this to be a surprise I didn’t disclose this particular one to her. I only hope that she along with all of you will also enjoy this one". Rooth Gayeele Saniyaan Hamaar… was rendered in a way that would have really done her Guru proud.

Neeta concluded the evening with a Sufiana Kalaam kafi, a poetic expression with a blend of mysticism.

Towards the end the listeners were informed by the MC, “The purpose of music, considered in relation to God, is to arouse the longing for God, and passionate love for Him, and to produce states in which God reveals Himself and His favours, which are beyond description and known only by experience. These states are called ecstasy.”

But we can say the same for all the renditions of the evening- ecstatic!