Classical doyens pay tribute to `Sitar Legend` Ravi Shankar

In a tribute to the sitar legend Pandit Ravi Shankar leading names from the world of music came together in the city to recreate the favourite pieces of the maestro

Kolkata: In a tribute to the sitar legend Pandit Ravi Shankar, less than a year after his death, leading names from the world of music came together in the city for the first time, to recreate the favourite pieces the maestro wanted to hear from them at his residence here or in the States and at public concerts."I am presenting one of the compositions Panditji wanted to hear from me at his San Jose residence," eminent santoor artiste Pt Tarun Bhattacharya said before strumming up the `sur` at the `Santoor Ashram` even as Pt Ravi Shankar`s another favourite young tabla-artist, Rhythmscape man Bickram Ghosh looked on intently.

Recalling how Pandit Ravi Shankar always egged him on to do more experiment with his indigenous Mohanveena instrument, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt said, "He used to call it divine creation. Coming from the soul as he himself always called for taking the listener to the soul of music." "If you yourself can`t reach the soul, how can you recreate the divinity which makes music so universal. Pandit Ravi Shankar epitomised that divine universality," he said. `Repeating History The Golden Trio` also witnessed the weaving of sur by Pt Tarun Bhattacharya and famed shehnai artiste Pt Dayashankar. The retro classical music concert was the first of its kind in this part as a special tribute after his death where we presented a bouquet of various genres of classical strains for the aficionados as well as listeners not so much tuned in to the pure orthodox gharana. PTI