Attending the 13-day 45th Saptak festival in Ahmedabad after a gap of a few years was nostalgic. Everyone missed founder Manju Mehta, who passed away in 2024. But, the unobtrusive courtesy and warm hospitality remained the same. Artistes who perform at Saptak are like family, even if it’s their first appearance on stage.
Some things never change at Saptak — the simple stage in a school premises, the excellent sound system despite the event being both indoors and outdoors, and the strict adherence to time.
Today, Saptak, founded by Nandan and Manju Mehta, has become one of India’s longestclassical music and dance festivals, held from January 1 to 13 every year. Sandeep Joshi, the founders’ son-in-law and one of the organisers, said the festival grew from one day to three, a week and the present 13 days. Nandan Mehta is a disciple of Pt Kishen Maharaj, who used to come to the festival on December 31 and stay till January 15.
Manju Mehta, a fine sitarist, who founded Saptak along with husband Nandan
Initially, the event was held informally — artistes used to stay in the home of Nandan Mehta, and other like-minded music lovers. Gradually, an award honouring artistic excellence was instituted. This, too, was unique in that artistes who performed were called upon to do the honours. Recipients of the award includes Pt Jasraj, Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma, vidushi Kishori Amonkar, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and Pt. Samta Prasad.
Even this ceremony used to be personalised. Archival recordings of the artiste would be released, and Kishen Maharaj would usually write a poem on the artistes. Apparently, he would quip — “If you want a copy of my copy on you, you will have to come to Benaras and perform at the festival in memory of my father. Only then will I present the poem to you, duly framed!”
There have been memorable concerts at Saptak. 1n 1997, at his debut appearance at Saptak, Pt. Birju Maharaj played the ‘naad’, Pt. Rishi Upadhyay played the pakhawaj and Pt. Kishen Maharaj the tabla. A two-hour tabla solo of Pt. Samta Prasad is another rare gem.
Shubhendra Rao rekindled memories of his guru, Pt. Ravi Shankar
This year too, there were some very special concerts. Shubhendra Rao, senior disciple of Pt. Ravi Shankar and guru bhai of Manju Mehta, rekindled memories of his guru in his heartfelt tribute concert (the festival this year was dedicated to Manju Mehta and Ustad Zakir Hussain). He played raag Jogeshwari composed by his guru, a combination of raags Rageshwari and Jog. The seamless alaap jor gave way to an unusual jhala, before moving onto the madhya laya composition in Jhaptaal. The second composition was in Ektaal, and unusually, Shubhendra concluded his concert sticking to Ektaal — usually, the laya is difficult to maintain in the ati dhrut jhala. Next, displaying his command over rare pieces of music, Shubhendra played raag Mishra Gara. The composition was an old one, redolent with ‘bolkaari’, and an aural feast. On the tabla was the supremely lyrical Tanmoy Bose from Kolkata.
Another satisfying concert was by Pt. Ulhas Kashalkar, who expertly crafted Nayaki Kanhra, a raga considered succinct, into a full-length piece. Establishing the Kanhra content fully, the maestro created a web of note linkages, using the Agra style of gayaki to embellish it. His rounded meends and emotive singing was deeply satisfying — he sang three compositions. The next raag was Paraj. Unusually, Ulhas was accompanied by Yogesh Samsi on the tabla, and Sudhir Nayak on the harmonium. The rapport between the two was evident, with the former taking musical liberties fearlessly. Sudhir shared that they used to perform together often, in the past. Vocal support was provided by the Vadodara-based Bhavik Mankad.
Pt. Ulhas Kashalkar expertly crafted raag Nayaki Kanhra
Pawan Sidam, a disciple of Pt Nayan Ghosh and the winner of the annual Saptak percussion competition, impressed with his confident playing and extensive repertoire. Ustad Shujaat Khan was in his element, accompanied by Amit Choubey and Sapan Anjaria on the tabla, and endeared himself to the audience as always. The raag chosen was the Carnatic Vachaspati, and the style was inimitably Shujaat’s.
Ustad Shujaat Khan endeared himself to the audience as always.
Saptak is efficient with archiving too. All concert recordings have been painstakingly digitised and are available for students to hear. One can search for an artiste, a raga or a taal, making it very useful for research.
Saptak formally opened its archive wing in 2004, and started collecting recordings from private collectors too. Today, there are more than 15,000 hours of music, and 1,500 videos, with more in the pipeline.
It also has the private collections of several rasikas and patrons, including musicologists Rohit Desai, Deepak Raja, Kishor Merchant, Sugato Roy Chowdhury and the Rani of Sanand. Institutions such as Rukavipa Foundation, Samvaad Foundation, Sangeet Kendra and Advait Archives have donated their rare music to the archives.
All concert recordings have been painstakingly digitised and available for hearing.
Rare recordings include a private concert of Kishori Amonkar in the 1990s, when she sang at the residence of the Mehtas, and unusually allowed herself to be recorded. Amongst the rarest recordings are thumris rendered by 28 tawaifs of Benaras, some dating back to the 1900s.
The Saptak team ensures the rare music is only available to listen to, and cannot be copied. There are listening pods. As of now, the archives are only available offline, though Saptak curator and tabla artiste Sapan Anjaria shared that in the future, online access may be given to members.
Published – January 28, 2025 04:00 pm IST
