Kala Vaibhav and LearnQuest Academy presented a wonderful afternoon concert to Boston music lovers on Saturday, September 21, 2019 at Innovation Academy auditorium in Tyngsboro, MA. The concert featured Hindustani vocalist Shri Rahul Deshpande accompanied by Shri Milind Kulkarni on the harmonium and Shri Yashwant Vaishnav on the tabla. All three artists, acclaimed as young masters in their respective fields, collaborated nicely to create a memorable experience for music lovers.

Shri Rahul Deshpande is the grandson of the renowned veteran vocalist, the late Pandit Vasant Rao Deshpande who was known for his versatility in his ability to render classical music and semi-classical music with equal felicity. From the September 21 concert, it was clear that he is carrying forward his grandfather’s fine musical genes and legacy.

The first half of the concert featuring classical khyals in ragas Madhuvanti, Shree and Bhoop consisted of uniquely constructed Pandit Kumar Gandharva compositions, bol, aakaar and sargam alaaps, modulated  taans, layakaari, long rests on the prominent notes, vocal ornamentation such as kan-swar, meend, murki and gamak among others. The accompanists Milind Kulkarni on the harmonium and Shri Yashwant Vaishnav on the tabla embellished the renditions in a thoughtful manner, exercising fine judgement on where to shadow the main artist and where to display their own imagination and expertise with their respective instruments in short solo expositions. The clever use of madhyam towards the end of the Bhoop composition reminded the audience of Pandit Kumar Gandharva’s musical temperament and influence on Shri Rahul Deshpande’s approach to music.

Acknowledging the presence of semi-classical music lovers in the audience, Shri Rahul Deshpande urged them to be patient and to have an open mind when it came to listening to classical music. After creating a strong base of classical music renditions, he concluded the first half of the concert with a Marathi song “Baglyanchi maal phule” set to six beat cycle, Dadra taal. The harmonium player Shri Milind Kulkarni and Shri Yashwant Vaishnav were in their element and their talents came to the forefront in this rendition.

A thirty minute break allowed for concert attendees to socialize over tea, samosa, aloo-bonda and Mango lassi snacks. One concert attendee thought that a thirty minute break was too long but others found it a good length of time to chat and catch up with friends. What was apparent was that the audience was more than ready to listen to the second half of the concert.

In the second half of the concert, Shri Rahul Deshpande prefaced a Mehdi Hassan Ghazal “Gulon mien rang bhare” and Pandit Kumar Gandharva’s Nirguni bhajan “Naiharva Humka Na Bhaave” with a short talk about two shades of selfless love. His application of voice and ornamentation was more modulated than what he used in the earlier classical renditions.  In fusing elements of folk music with Nirguni bhajan rendition, the artist showed that he did not blindly copy or imitate the masters – he used his independent, creative thinking and imagination to build the compositions. Shri Deshpande remembered his teacher Smt. Usha who passed away recently by rendering a folk style composition embellished with subtle nuances.

Thereafter, Shri Rahul Deshpande sang Marathi NatyaSangeet and delighted concert attendees with the rendition of “Gheyi Chhand Makarand” (from the Marathi play and movie Katyar Kalijaat Ghusli) adorning the rendition with a great number of lightning fast taans. When the members of the audience shouted “Once more”, the artist repeated a verse from the same song once again but with totally new improvisations including a clever foray into Raga Patdeep.

The artist gave a touching speech recounting the encouragement he has received from his grandfather and father, his teachers, his loyal music supporters and his tour organizer. “My grandfather Shri Vasantrao Deshpande whose centenary year we celebrate this year was a versatile singer who had an open mind and loved music unconditionally. He taught students whatever they wanted to learn whether it was a thumri, natyageet or classical composition” said Shri Rahul Deshpande. There were a host of requests from the audience and the artist sang “Ya Bhavana Til Geet Purane” based on raga Nand, masterfully.  The artist also spoke about how every artist must be honest to their art and the importance of surrendering to “sur”. “To sing Natyasangeet is very difficult. Many singers don’t sing it because they feel their music may get affected. I am not from that school of thought” he added.

To thank the organizer, Arundhati Datye of Kala Vaibhav, Shri Rahul Deshpande sang the famous Ghazal “Ranjish hi Sahi” popularized by Ustad Mehdi Hassan with a charming solo prelude on the harmonium by Shri Milind Kulkarni. The concert ended on high note in praise of Vitthal with the rendition of the abhang “Kanada Raja Pandari Sa”. “I especially loved the ghazal rendition and with the abhang rendition, he took the devotional composition to a different plane altogether” said concert attendee Smt. Neela Jangi.

Shri Rahul Deshpande’s powerful renditions in a variety of Hindustani musical genres, and the imaginative and sensitive support of his accompanists, Shri Milind Kulkarni and Shri Yashwant Vaishnav came together to create a well-knit presentation for music lovers in Boston. Kudos to the artists, the organizers and volunteers for a successful music event.

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