Accolades for Ustad Rashid Khan’s vocal concert                                                               by Prem Mohlajee 

Rolling Meadows, IL : It was a unique and delightful experience to listen to Ustad Rashid Khan presenting a marvelous vocal recital on Saturday, August 6, 2005 in the beautiful Meadows Corporate auditorium in Rolling Meadows, Illinois.

Ustad Rashid Khan who draws his lineage from famous Sahaswan Gharana of Rampur, U.P. inaugurated his evening recital with a famous but tranquil raga Shri. Raga Shri, a diffused light melody subsuming beautiful combinations of Re (second note) and Pa (fifth note) belongs to Poorvi Mela (group) of ragas. Through an excellent use of Rishab (second note) and its combinations with soft Dhaivat (Soft sixth note) and sharp Madhyam (sharp fourth note) an exquisite raga picture was delineated during Vilambit (slow tempo) presentation. The thirty minute leisurely recital set to Jhap taal of ten beats was unfolded with great serenity and the artiste was able to generate reposeful feelings while engendering classical purity. The Vilambit rendering was marked by excellent “Alapchari” followed by a systematic use of “Sargams” (notes) and many high speed musical patterns (taans) thus portraying the wonderful raga Shri. Ustad Rashid Khan who is among the avant-garde of North Indian classical vocalists concluded raga Shri rendition with a fifteen minutes fast tempo exposé set to teen taal of sixteen beats.

The pre-intermission item contained an enchanting arrangement in a complex raga Suha-Sugrai belonging to Kafi Mela (group) of ragas. This two raga combination of raga Suha and raga Sugrai invariably depicts the picture of Kanhra ragas. These evening ragas are also sung separately as raga Suha Kanhra and Sugrai Kanhra. The twelve minute fast tempo composition set to teen taal of sixteen beats was melodiously expressive and seemed to be lending itself to his musical ideas with promptitude.

After a forty minutes interval, Ustad Rashid Khan appeared on the stage with his accompanists – Prasad Khaparde vocal, Jyoti Goho on Harmonium and veteran Tabla maestro Anand Gopal Bandopadhyay. Following a twenty minute singing of raga Ranjni, Ustad Rashid Khan refocused his performance in a direction of light classical concert of Thumris for which he has received various accolades from India’s Greats like Pt. Bhimsen Joshi.

For almost fifty minutes Ustad Rashid Khan sang four different Thumris in his achingly sweet voice while maintaining his lyrical eloquence. Thumris were vocalized euphoniously for great pleasure of one and all in the audience. His music and recently developed effulgent countenance has started to carry his audience to seventh heaven.

Tabla player Anand Gopal Bandopadhyay provided an excellent tabla accompaniment that embellished this evening’s unique recital. He kept up the good rhythm and played with great interest and percussion virtuosity.

Prasad Khaparde, Ustad Rashid Khan’s best disciple provided very intelligent vocal assistance by singing in his extremely sweet voice. Jyoti Goho on Harmonium provided superb support to Ustad Rashid Khan which further enhanced the concert. He very ably reproduced the grand microtones; the great singer was creating with great aptness.

This August 6, 2005 concert was inaugurated with Dhrishti’s traditional Lamp lighting ceremony and concluded with very honorable flower bouquets presentation to the grand artistic group of the evening who also received standing ovation from the classical music aficionados.

 Pandit Jasraj scintillates in Sandhya Raag  ( India Tribune, May 15, 2004)

Palatine, IL : For Pt. Jasraj, a doyen of the Mewati Gharana and one of India’s very best classical vocalists, Indian music is not an art form. “Indian classical music is a continuous form of prayer,” he says in his own profound way. And this profound statement took its own form on May 1 when Jasraj held an audience of classical music lovers spellbound at the Dhrishti-organized concert, appropriately titled Sandhya Raag. The ambience created by the organizers at the Harper College auditorium, which is typical of the shows organized by Dhrishti, complimented the masterly performance by Pandit Jasraj.

 Dhrishti’s Valentine’s gala mesmerizes ( India Tribune, February 23, 2002)

Schaumburg, IL : Drawing in an enthusiastic crowd of music loving couples, Dhrishti’s fifth presentation ‘Tumhe aur kya doon main dil ke siwa’ lived up to its billing as a “not to miss” show. “It brought back memories of 40 years of my life” said a visibly moved Harkishan Singh, a first time attendee of Dhrishti presentations.

 Dhrishti’s presentation a great success ( Indian Reporter, October 12, 2001)

Chicago, IL : Madan Kulkarni and Ms. Shebani’s newly formed entertainment and art promotion company, Dhrishti, presented before Chicago art lovers, one of the finest evenings at the Moulin Rouge of the Fairmont Hotel in downtown Chicago on September 8. Chicago’s who’s who was on the attendance list. Sarangi wizard, Ustad Sultan Khan’s scintillating recital was applauded by one and all. Equally enthralling was the performance of young maestro Rashid Khan. The audience was all praises for the organizers, Ms. Shebani and Madan Kulkarni. Dhrishti aims at featuring celebrated exponents in addition to new talent from several fields of art and culture through exhibitions, demonstrations, literary events, symposiums, music concerts, workshops and fashion shows.