The three-day Dover Lane Music Conference, now in its 59th year, showcases Hindustani classical maestros and rising stars
Seventy-two-year-old Hrishikesh Mitra has been looking forward to attending the night-long annual music extravaganza, Dover Lane Music Conference. It’s an event he hasn’t missed in the last 27 years, and he is determined that this year will be no different.
Like every year, the 59th edition of the concert, which began at the Nazrul Manch auditorium yesterday evening, is dominated by torchbearers of Hindustani music gharanas. This time the scene is dominated by next-generation musicians like Aman Ali Khan, the elder son of sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan, Kaushiki Desikan, daughter of renowned Indian classical singer Ajoy Chakraborty, and Rakesh Chaurasia, nephew of flute maestro Hariprasad Chaurasia.
Along with them are veterans like Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma, Ajoy Chakraborty and Amjad Ali Khan. “We have an impressive confluence of both stalwarts and the young generations,” says
Sanjay Budhia, managing director of Patton Group, and patron of Dover Lane Music Conference.
For the first time ever, the organisers have also included classical dance in an attempt to broaden the base of the event. “Indian classical dance is also a legacy that needs to be harnessed,” says
Budhia. Under the initiative, Kuchipudi exponent Yamini Reddy will perform at the concert today.
One of the largest Indian classical musical events, Dover Lane Music Conference was started in 1952 by a group of music-lovers from the bylanes of South Kolkata. That is where the conference gets its name.
Over the years, the concert has grown into an event of national repute. Music greats like Ravi Shankar, Bhimsen Joshi, Gangubai Hangal, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and Zakir Hussain have all performed on this platform.
Every year, music-lovers from across the country flock to Kolkata to attend the concerts. “The event has become a launching pad for budding talent,” says Budhia. Rakesh Chaurasia agrees, “It’s a dream to perform before such an enlightened audience. For a young musician, it’s a test to showcase his talent. And as reward, you get the blessings of the masters and veterans of classical music.”
For participants and audiences alike, the three-day experience is both enriching and rewarding. “The event’s success can be attributed to the cultural orientation of the city and its efforts to retain the pure classical essence at a time when the rest of the world is suffering from ‘fusion fever’,” says Chaurasia.
The organisers are preparing for a packed auditorium with about 4,000 people expected to turn up. Tickets are priced at Rs 240, Rs 350 and Rs 480. The popularity of the event has also drawn sponsors like Patton Group, P C Chandra Jewellers, Eureka Forbes, State Bank of India, United Spirit and the ABP group.
Dover Lane Music Conference is on till January 25 at Nazrul Mancha, Rabindra Sarobar
