This Kathak recital by Smt.Sonali Chakraverti was part of the Birth Centenary Commemoration of Pt.Lalji Gokhale, the eminent Tabla Artiste and Guru.
The performance took place in Pune on 27th January 2018.
The keynote of this Kathak recital was that Sonali incorporated the tabla matter that she had learnt from her Guru Pt.Lalji Gokhale in all the three parts of her performance.
She starts with a Saraswati Vandana, the tabla accompaniment is of the 'Pakhawaj Ang'; something that Lalji had in his repertoire since he had learnt to play pakhawaj too. It is followed by Teentaal in the 'Farrukhabad-Laliyana Silsila' that Lalji got from his Guru, Ustad Ahmedjan Thirakwa; and which in turn he gave to his students. Sonali concludes with a Meera Bhajan, which is based on the 'Bhajani Theka' that Lalji had worked on extensively and developed.
Tabla accompaniment is by Shri Dattatray Bhave, Sonali's 'Guru-Bandhu' (and a senior shishya of Lalji) and her accompanist for more than 27 years. He has been her collaborator in this endeavour since the first day she began learning from Lalji.
Other accompanists are: Sarvashri Soumitra Kshirsagar-harmonium, Keyur Kurulkar-vocal, Amar Oak-flute, Nitish Purohit-sarod, Sangeet Mishra-saurangi.
Some important background information must be shared: Lalji Gokhale's 'gandabandhan' (formal initiation as student) with Thirakwa took place in Mujumdarwada, Pune in 1929 when he was about 9 years old. In fact Lalji's given name was Madhusudan Raghunath Gokhale. It was Thirakwa who affectionately called his earnest young pupil....'Lala' (a term of endearment). In time, as the boy grew in age and in stature as a musician; 'Lala' grew into 'Lalaji', which (somewhat incorrectly) got spelled as Lalji. The Ustad gave his favourite Shagird not just knowledge, but also a name.
This was the Guru that took Sonali Chakraverti under his wing in 1991. Now Lalji was well known to be a very strict, very outspoken and extremely meticulous person and musician. Much lesser known was the fact that he could be sensitive and very caring towards a student; especially when the student felt daunted or discouraged. Both these aspects of his qualities were amply displayed during the decade that Sonali spent with him till his demise in 2002. A conversation between him and Sonali led to another turn in her life. She said to him that she needed some guidance in Pakhawaj. Lalji promptly picked up the phone and called Pt.Vasantrao Ghorpadkar, the Pakhawaj maestro. He said: 'Vasanta, I am sending Sonali to you; give her whatever she wants'. Which then led to 5 years of learning with Vasantraoji. Pt.Ghorpadkar was a gentle and soft-spoken man and as generous as Lalji. Much later, she was able to ask Vasantraoji: what made him agree to Lalji's call. He replied: Lalji is my 'Gurubhai' (Lalji had learnt Pakhawaj from Pt.Shankarbhaiyya Ghorpadkar; Vasantraoji's father), Lalji is also my Guru (Vasantrao had learnt tabla from Lalji). That was that. Vasantrao just wouldn't have done anything else...this illustrates the great affection and respect between these two stalwarts.
Sonali's gurus in the Lucknow Gharana of Kathak are Smt.Reba Vidyarthi (shishyaa of Pts.Acchan Maharaj and Shambhu Maharaj) and Smt.Savita Godbole (shishyaa of Pt.Lacchu Maharaj). It must be remembered that these three Dance Maestros (who were all brothers) were very knowledgeable in percussion, and were proficient players of Tabla and Pakhawaj too. There is a particularly legendary performance of Pt.Shambhu Maharaj accompanied by Ustad Ahmedjan Thirakwa. There is a throwback to that episode, in Sonali's rendering of Teentaal here. For Sonali, this endeavour in Kathak closed a circle of years ago.
Finally, another great Guru, Pt.Arvind Mulgaonkar needs to be recalled. He was aware of Sonali's efforts and it had been the subject of much conversation and correspondence between them. He had been a constant source of encouragement and even said that he would love to see a dance recital that exclusively explored nuances of the Farrukhabad shaili. Unfortunately, Fate intervened.....
This is an opportunity to remember and pay homage not just to these Gurus mentioned above...but to all Gurus who have created and nurtured our Music and Musicians.