SAN FRANCISO, CA: San Francisco Bay Area was fortunate in listening to the mesmerizing performance of celebrity violinist Sharat Chandra Srivatsava from Delhi, during April 9th to 29th, when he visited California for the first time.
Belonging to Senia Gharana, Sharat started learning violin at the age of 7, from his grandfather, the renowned North Indian violinist Pt Joi Srivastava. Sharat has traveled in several European countries giving performances over the last 30 years.
He happens to be the leader of the Delhi based fusion group – “Mrigya” and was part of India’s premier rock band Parikrama for 12 years as also a member of the world music quartet India Alba. He is recipient of National Scholarship from the Government of India and had taught Indian classical violin at the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, New Delhi from 1999 to 2007.
More striking, he conducted master classes at the University of Edinburgh, Royal Scotland Academy of Music and Drama, University of Stratclythe, Glasgow, Scotland, and workshops in Winterthur University, Switzerland and Casa de la India, Valladolid, Spain. He has accompanied great stalwarts of music like Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Pt. Birju Mahara. Sharat had also performed at the Tansen Gwalior Sangeet Sammelan 2016.
Sharat’s tour to the Bay area this year began with a small concert at Shirdi Sai Parivaar, Milpitas on April 8, when he chose Raag Bihag and ended with a few Sai Bhajans.
He was accompanied by Rajvinder Singh on tabla. On April 9, he conducted a hands-on workshop on North Indian classical ragas at the California Jazz Conservatory, Berkeley.
He gave demonstrations of various North Indian ragas as well as explained their roots. Hindustani vocalist Madhabika Nayak accompanied him on a demonstration as to how voice blends effortlessly with the ‘gayaki’ element of violin in the Indian classical style.
Sharat’s most memorable performance was organized on April 22 at the Sur Maala, Indian Classical music series at the India Community Center, Milpitas, coordinating with Sangeet Dhwani, a leading agency that has been promoting Indian Classical Music, over the last two decades.
Sharat’s performance comprised compositions in the Poorvi style based on several ragas. The audience was spell-bound with the afternoon raga Bhimpalasi with Sharat’s breath-taking violin performance which he rendered with alaap, jod and jhala in both vilambit (slow) and drut (fast) laya (tempo).
Sharat’s disciple Madhabina Nayak, an accomplished classical vocalist from Orissa, presented a couple of devotionals, with supportive accompaniment by Sharat, on his violin. Especially, on the request of audience, Madhabina presented a brilliant rendering of a devotional song
“Baje Muraliya Baje” which Lata Mangeshkar had performed with late Pt. Bhimsen Joshi.
India Post News Service
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