Shubhadaji's concert in Aurangabad and a pleasant surprise.

This will surely delight lovers of Hindustani classical music and especially Viji and Khalid, Gayathri and Mukund. We missed them!

We were to be in Aurangabad on the 21st Dec with Nandini and the rest. Ajanta and Ellora were on our agenda as well as meeting Tara's guru Shubhadaji. (You can watch a recital by her!) When we learnt that she had a concert on 19th, we went ahead of others to attend the concert. We were lucky to get train bookings.

We were received by Satishji at the station in the middle of the night of the 18th and after a pleasant chat reminiscing, went to bed. I woke up only to the sound of an electronic tanpura in the morning. She had already completed her riyaz early in the morning! In a way it was fine that we did not hear her practice and heard her only at the concert!

While Tara had a good time chatting with Shubhadaji, I had even a better time eating a very maharastrian breakfast and lunch! Throughout our stay I had variety of maha food: poha, sabudhana kichdi, vada, amti and kosumbeer. I could not ask for more!

Shubhadaji's home. The abode of 'Swara'.

Shubhadaji left early to check out the sound system. The concert was at the school grounds. We were kindly given a ride to the place by one of her students. As I walked in I was very impressed by the arrangements, the auditorium could easily accommodate over a thousand people! It was a third full when we arrived but filled up by the time the concert began! As I waited I sauntered into the canteen and ate batata vada with bread, absolutely perfect in that weather!

The concert began soon after a brief introduction. I felt that Shubhadaji was a little introspective in the begining. But as she warmed up to the audience her music captivated them. It turned out to be a memorable performance. Reminded me of the many great concerts I had heard in Pune in the past. The ambiance, the weather made it perfect. The organisers could justifiably be proud.

Later I asked how she herself rated this concert. She said 'It is one of my best!' I think we were very fortunate to be part of the experience! In fact, she recently was on the AIR national program which went very well. She is performing at the prestigious Doverlane festival in kolkatta on the 24th of Jan

It was a pleasure to see Vibhav Nageshkar on the tabla and Milind Raikar on the violin combine so well with Shubhadaji to make the concert truly memorable. Shubhadaji is well known for her 'laykari' and the rapport between the tabla and Shubhadaji's singing was precesion par excellence. Singing in taals like Jhumra,Tilwada and Pushto are complex, however, Shubhadaji made it sound so easy, melodious and rhythmic. We could also see that she drew a lot of inspiration from her husband, who accompanied her on the Harmonium.

The many moods of Shubhadaji!

The day after the concert:

Next day was memorable in a very different way. Mukti, Anvi and Shrinivas Rao drove in all the way from Ahmadnagar to meet Shubhadaji and us! Anvi is such a delight. She is so expressive and affectionate.

We had so much to talk about. Shrinivas supported Tara in her efforts to bring music into Bangkok and was a main contributor to the improved music scene in Bangkok. Mukti is a very talented Kathak dancer. They have moved to UK. More about them later!

At home. Satish Paradkar and his sister Nalini Sadhale and
in the forefront is Shrinivas Rao's mother!