Sunday & Thereafter

Sunday was a special day. On the lawns of Indira Gandhi National Centre of Arts lit by lamps, Dr. Shanno Khurana (Shanno mami to me) gave a classical vocal recital dedicated to the Rampur-Sehaswan Gharana as part of The Gharana Festival. What’s amazing is the way she has been defying age to immortalise Indian classical music and its lofty traditions. Born in Jodhpur in 1927, she began singing at an early age and has been enthralling music lovers since then. Her range spans Khayals, Thumris, Dadras, Tappas and her voice transcends the heights of melody when she sings a Maand, Chaiti, Kajri or Hori. I vividly recall her opera ‘Sohni Mahiwal’, which was staged at AIFACS Hall on Rafi Marg, then the epicentre of Delhi’s cultural activities. Shanno Khurana has sung and won bagful of awards at home and abroad-the one aptly bestowing upon her the title of ‘Nightingale of the East’. After a non-stop rendition lasting almost two hours, she was mobbed by admirers. One of them gushed and asked how she could continue to do it at the age of 83. She disarmingly smiled and said, ‘Why not call it 38?” God bless her!

If Sunday showcased the veteran Shanno mami, Monday brought me to face to face with Megha Madan, a promising painter who has hardly stepped out of her teens. When she asked if she could paint a potted plant lying in our courtyard, I was a trifle surprised. There were worthier specimens adorning my home- the hollyhocks along the boundary wall, which have shot up to tree-height and are in full bloom being my favourite- but she repeated her preference. She was enamoured of the varied colours of leaves and the way they formed the shadows in the morning Sun. I gave into the wishes of the third year student of Delhi’s College of Arts and saw her work every morning till noon during the next three days. I thought it was the heat that made her call a halt at noon. The real reason lay in the shifting shadows as the Sun rose in two hours. The white canvas was turned into a replica of the plant catching its hues of colours, twitching leaves and swaying shadows. When she took the work home for the final touches, I could wait no longer and shot her with it. Best wishes to the budding artist!