Kolkata: The 73rd Dover Lane Music Conference, which begins on Jan 22, will be offering the Sangeet Sanman Award to Indian classical dancer and teacher Elam Indira Devi, who is known for her expertise and scholarship in the classical dance form of Manipuri. Apart from Indian classical legends, like Ustad Zakir Hussain, Ustad Ashish Khan and Pt Rajeev Taranath, the conference will also be dedicated to its first chairman Pradipta Shankar Sen.
Bratindra Mustafi, the chairman of Dover Lane Music Conference, told TOI that this year has seen the loss of various stalwarts. While Hussain passed away on Dec 16, Khan breathed his last on Nov 15. Sarod maestro Pandit Rajeev Taranath passed away on June 11 this year. Another big loss was the demise of Dover Lane's first chairman. Incidentally, Sen was also one of the founders of the Calcutta Film Society.
"We will be dedicating our conference to those whom we lost. The last time Ustad Zakir Hussain played at Dover Lane was in 1992. He didn't play after that. Ustad Ashish Khan played in 2018," Mustafi said.
Yet, the lineup at the festival has interesting names. Performances include Amaan Ali Bangash (sarod), Ulhas Kashalkar (vocal), S Ballesh Bhajantru (shehnai), Ronkini Gupta (vocal), Kalapini Komkali (vocal), Sanjoy Ghosh (violin), Vaidehi Kulkarni (Kuchipudi), Sohini Roy Chowdhury (vocal), Pravin Dogkhindi and Shadaj Godkhindi (bansuri jugalbandi), Sajan Mishra (vocal), Anupama Bhagwat (sitar), Geeta Sirisha (Bharatnatyam), Pt Sandipan Samajpati (vocal), Viswa Mohan Bhatt, Padmini Rao (vocal), Tarun Bhattacharya (santoor), Phil Scraff (saxophone), Vikash Babu (shehnai), Sudip Chakraborty (kathak), Jayanthi Kumaresh (veena), Brij Bhushan Goswami (dhrupad), Ankita Joshi (vocal) and Subhasis Sabyasachi (pakhwaj and divine drums). The accompanists include Samar Saha, Jyoti Goho, Tanmoy Bose, Abhijit Banerjee, Subhojyoti Guha, Ishan Ghosh, Parimal Chakraborty, Rupashree Bhattacharya, Ram Kumar Mishra and Sanatan Goswami, among others.
Sanjay Budhia, MD-Patton and patron of Dover Lane Music Conference, said, "We endeavour to transform Dover Lane Music Conference into a harmonious convergence of veteran and new artistry. With the departure of luminaries like Ustad Rashid Khan and Ustad Zakir Hussain, we must discover emerging virtuosos who possess the exceptional prowess to perpetuate their illustrious legacy."
One of the interesting programmes is the duet of sexagenarian sitarist Ustad Shujaat Khan with 14-year-old flautist Anirban Bose. Roy is a student of Don Bosco, Liluah, and has been taking ‘talim' from his father Lokenath Roy. "It is a huge honour and privilege for me to be able to get this opportunity to play with Ustad Shujaat Khan. I have attended many concerts of his. I am grateful to the organisers for giving me this opportunity," Roy said.
Tabla player Aarchik Banerjee, son of Pt Subhankar Banerjee, said, "I had last performed at Dover Lane in 2022 and am glad to be back."
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