Unsung Kishori

Celebrating the musical genius of Kishori Amonkar with Raghunandan Panshikar

An NCPA Presentation

Supported by Citi

Kishori Amonkar (1931-2017) was among the virtuosos who reigned supreme in the firmament of 20th-century Hindustani music. Trained by her legendary mother, Mogubai Kurdikar, she was also groomed in different aspects of music by stalwarts like Anjanibai Malpekar, Mohanrao Palekar and Anwar Hussain Khan. Her mellifluous voice dazzled audiences, her trailblazing creativity confounded them. Her vocalism was markedly different from her mother’s, notwithstanding the base of the Jaipur-Atrauli ideology, which was obvious. In addition to the classical form of khayal, she also excelled in lighter forms such as the thumri and bhajan.

Besides being a vocalist of extraordinary calibre, she was also one of the great composers of her time. Her conviction that there can be no music without bhava (feeling), was unfailingly reflected in her performance and the compositions she created. Compositions like ‘Sahela Re Aa Mil Gaaye’, ‘Nainawa Barase’ or ‘Ganapata Vighan Harana’ left an impression on listeners long after she stopped performing them. Interestingly, a vast corpus of compositions exists which the legendary musician composed, but never performed. These include several bandishes in various ragas as well as bhajans, abhangas and even ghazals.

Raghunandan Panshikar, a well-known vocalist, had the privilege of training with eminent gurus like Vasantrao Kulkarni, Kishori Amonkar and Mogubai Kurdikar. His style of music—an open voice, captivating layakari (play with the rhythm) and lilting taans (fast melodic runs) that have a special character—clearly reflects features of the Jaipur-Atrauli tradition.

‘Unsung Kishori’ is Panshikar’s attempt to bring some of the doyenne’s unsung gems to the public. The compositions will be presented with an interplay of music and dialogue whereby he will narrate interesting anecdotes gleaned from a long association with his mentor.

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