A vocal quartet (two male voices accompanied by two female voices) presenting Dhrupad singing was a new pattern presented at the AIAF special classical music concerts on Sunday at Grand Cambay and at Amit Ambalal’s Haveli.
Umakant and Ramakant Gundecha opened the concert with raga Amrit Varshini heralding the beginnings of the soon-to-approach New Year festivities at Cambay, while in the closed heritage settings of Haveli, they rendered Hansdhwani.
They recited self-composed pieces written by poet Suryakant Tripathi (Nirala) and also presented the bhakti pad of Guru Nanak – ‘Sadho Man Ka Maan Tyago’ in raga Hansdhwani. “We are presenting a new pattern of Dhrupad singing by a quartet for the first time in Ahmedbad as ‘Patterns in Arts’ is the focus of AIAF,” said Ramakant Gundecha. Dhrupad singing is rarely performed by female vocalists, however two vocalists Astha Tripathi and Rupali Jain accompanied Gundecha brothers at two AIAF concerts on Sunday.
