When Waltham based LearnQuest Academy hosted its first annual music conference 13 years back, the organizers had little idea of how important the music festival would end up becoming for lovers of Indian classical music. By bringing some of the best known classical musicians paired with top-notch accompanists in the Hindustani and Carnatic traditions from India, the annual music festival has become a sort of an annual pilgrimage for many connoisseur listeners from all over the United States.

1.    Harmonium: The Piano of Indian Music by Shri Kedar Napahade

4.    A multi-media presentation titled “30 Influential Female Indian

Classical Musicians” by the author of this report.

The music festival on the evening of Friday, March 29 commenced with lamp lighting by the well known Boston based entrepreneur and philanthropist couple, Anuradha and Prashanth Palakurthi along with the chair of the conference Dr. Vijay Kumar. It was followed by a group invocation to Goddess Saraswati in the Dhrupad style of music and was led by the founder of LearnQuest, Dr. Pradeep Shukla. Acclaimed vocalists Shri SakethaRaman and Smt. Pooja Goswami Pavan then took turns in presenting a rich variety of musical genres in the Carnatic and Hindustani traditions respectively. Both, the bhakti (devotion) aspect of compositions by some of the Carnatic trinity composers and the intellectual aspect of violinist Lalgudi Jayaraman’s thillana composition were conveyed beautifully thru Shri SakethaRaman’s music. Hindustani vocalist Smt. Pooja Goswami’s presentation of Hori, Chaiti, Dadra and Thumri “Babul Mora Naihar Chooto hi Jaaye” in addition to Khyals in Raga Bageshri effectively brought in the fragrance of Eastern U.P traditions into the Regis College auditorium.

A multimedia presentation by the author of this report on thirty influential women classical musicians of yesteryears who paved the way for females to embrace Indian classical music as a career choice was the first presentation held on the morning of Saturday, March 30. Saturday’s musical fare included an energetic Carnatic vocal recital by 21 year old Sunil Gargyan, a Hindustani Khyal concert by veteran vocalist Shri Sandip Ghosh, a rich and resonant Veena string instrument recital by Shri D. Srinivas, a melodious Sarod recital by Shri Debojyoti Bose, a soulful Carnatic vocal recital followed by an open Question and Answer session with the renowned artist, Smt. Sudha Raghunathan as well as a powerful Hindustani vocal finale by Begum Parveen Sultana. The 68 year old versatile vocalist sang Khyals in Maru Bihag and Basant, Hori, a Marathi song, a Meera Bhajan and Bhairavi Sadra “Bhavani Dayaani”. True to her reputation, she mesmerized listeners by her unique pitch-perfect voice and extensive range that spanned three octaves. She won hearts not just of the connoisseurs but of the lay listener as well with her rendition of the film song “Humein tumse pyar kitna ye hum nahi jaante, magar jee nahi sakte tumhare bina.”

The third and final day, Sunday, March 31 commenced with a duet vocal recital by Bharat Ratna, the late Pandit Bhimsen Joshi’s son, Shri Shrinivas Joshi and his grandson, 16 year old Viraj Joshi. They sang a khyaal in the Punjabi language in Raga Mian Ki Todi and followed it with an evocative Kafi thumri “Piya tho maanat naahin” and a Hindi bhajan “Baaje Muraliya Baaje”. A book on classical music compositions by Dr. Dattatreya Velankar was released by Shri Shrinivas Joshi after the recital. Carnatic vocalist Shri Palghat Ramprasad presented krithis in ragas Natai, Varali, Nalinakanthi and ended with an emotion laden rendition of the much loved devotional composition “Bhaavayami Gopalabaalam”.

The afternoon rain outside the auditorium was greeted by a pleasing rendition of Raga Megh and a Pahadi folk dhun by flautist Shri Jay Gandhi, Santoor artist Shri Kunal Gunjal and tabla artist Shri Amit Kavthekar. Next, the famous sibling pair Shri Lalgudi GJR Krishnan and Smt. VIjayalakshmi charmed the audience with a Carnatic violin duet presenting a Ragam thanam Pallavi in Raga Dharmavathi and other shorter compositions set to ragas such as Patdeep, Maand, Nagaswaravali and Kiranavali. A Sindhu Bhairavi  thillana composed by their father, the legendary violin maestro, the late Shri Lalgudi Jayaraman was a fitting finale to their recital which featured percussion support on the mridangam and tabla. The music festival was concluded by a Dhrupad performance by Padmashri Gundecha brothers. They presented a detailed and expressive alaap, jod, jhaala and composition in Raga Bihag and rounded off with a brisk and energetic rendition of a Shiva Stuti in Raga Adana.

“The festival gets better each year but I would urge organizers to end the program a little earlier than midnight so that we can attend the next morning events on time” said concert attendee Shiwani who flew in from Florida to attend the festival.

Other than the music, an art show, sale of ethnic clothing, jewelry, DVDs, recorded Carnatic music on a handy digital device and books made the music festival interesting. A talented team of artists from the non-profit Kalakruthi displayed colorful paintings and sculptures and included a live painting demo of a ceramic vase in a large room adjoining the auditorium. Mouth-watering, gourmet cuisine from North as well as South India enticed the palate of concert attendees who mingled in the lobby during short breaks between the thirteen consecutive music performances. “The idlis are soft and remind me of a steamed Chinese dumpling” said Xinghua Li who attended the festival. Sale of ethnic clothing and jewelry was another much loved part of the festival. When I complimented Odissi dancer Chand Sripad for her striking black and red necklace set, she replied “I bought it yesterday at the conference. I love it because it is hand-made and works with many of my outfits”.

A beautifully designed magazine featuring articles on the theme of “Aura of ragas” was appreciated by the young and the old alike. “The magazine was very well put together. I enjoyed reading all the articles. Ragas have an impact on mood and feelings and three days of raga music made a lot of change in me” said Chandra Ganapathy who traveled from New Jersey. Magazine editor Akash Deep said “The most satisfying thing for me was seeing three children, all under 12 years of age, sitting next to each other in the lobby pouring over the magazine.”

Dr. Pradeep Shukla, founder of LearnQuest thanked patron donors, participating artists, listeners, members of steering committee and multiple sub-committees headed by this year’s chairman Dr. Vijay Kumar as well as volunteers of all ages for their efforts. After the conference, there was a champagne and dinner celebration in the lobby with Dhrupad maestros, the Gundecha brothers.

As in the past thirteen years, the 2019 LearnQuest  conference succeeded once again in bringing more than 500 music lovers under one roof to experience many human emotions that were effectively portrayed through the medium of Indian language and Classical Music. Kudos to the organizers, artists and volunteers of the 14th Music Conference which sets the bar higher with every year.