It all started with the Ides of March 2014!

The Sanjan Nagar Institute of Philosophy and Arts (SIPA), Lahore had organised a sangeet sammelan in collaboration with Chandigarh-based Indian National Theatre (INT) where musicians from both India and Pakistan were to perform. No wonder then if one saw Lahorites, always eager to listen to quality music, throng Sanjan Nagar all three days of the sammelan.

Fortunately, apart from good music, one also had the opportunity to listen to Mr Navjeevan Khosla, President of the INT. A retired officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) with a refined taste for subcontinental music, Mr Khosla did his masters in English literature from Government College, Lahore in early 1940s and is proud of having been a student of Prof. Patras Bukhari. He is also closely related to Prof. Guru Datt Sondhi, a senior contemporary of Patras Bukhari and another legendary professor at Government College, Lahore.

It must have been a very auspicious moment, one believes, when he, during his short stay at Lahore, vehemently declared that INT would be happy to host a delegation of SIPA at its next sangeet sammelan in October at Chandigarh. However, the worsening of border situation a little after the departure of the INT troupe from Lahore weakened the chances of such a thing to happen. All hopes were about to die when suddenly SIPA received a formal invitation by the INT in August.

There was hardly any trouble getting an Indian visa, thanks to the superb management by SIPA. And on Oct 23, it took Qasim Jafri (GM Hotel Avari), Dr Ghazala Irfan (Secretary, All Pakistan Music Conference), Rasheeda, Sadia and Iram (all three associated with SIPA, Lahore) and the writer almost half an hour to reach the border that we crossed over around 11.15 PST. We were in India!

As it was Diwali that day, the only shops open were either sweet shops or gift centres. A stop over at Haveli restaurant close to Jullundur was very refreshing. Sipping over tea in the courtyard, we could feel a festive mood all around. Dozens of families dressed especially for Diwali were busy enjoying generous helpings of traditional Punjabi and fast food.

We reached Chandigarh at about 07.00pm and were received warmly by Khoslas at their house in Panchkula, a beautiful small town in Haryana state situated at hardly 15 minutes drive from Chandigarh. While having tea at Khoslas, one could notice fireworks becoming intense. A few of us with their tea cups in hand came out and, standing by the beautifully laid out Rangoli at the entrance, watched live fireworks display in the neighbourhoods. We were to observe many more exquisitely made Rangolis almost everywhere we went during the next couple of days!

In India, music conferences called sangeet sammelan(s) are usually held in a slightly different manner. After two evening sessions on Friday and Saturday, the concluding session starts a little before noon on Sunday and ends in early afternoon. Apart from a few others, the best thing this arrangement provide is that the artistes have a chance to sing or play morning and midday ragas which, unfortunately, are rarely performed in Pakistan as music conferences are normally held only at night.

The 37th Chandigarh sangeet sammelan started in a simple and dignified manner on Friday, Oct 24 in the auditorium of Bhartya Vidya Bhavan. First, Pandit Arvind Datt Sharma rendered raga Anandi Kalyan followed by Tilak Kamod and Kalawati. He rounded off his performance with a Tirwat in raga Malkauns which also could do little to repair the impression created by his earlier renderings.

The second performance of the evening was a sitar recital by Anupama Bhagwat who started with raga Jhanjhoti. Listening to Anupma’s recital for the first time was a great delight indeed as her mellifluous performance was simply superb. After delineating the raga in exquisite details, she rendered a Dadra which was also well received by the audience.

A special lunch in honour of all performing artists and the guests from Pakistan had been arranged by INT on Saturday, Oct 25 at Hotel Aroma. It was a great pleasure to meet other members of the organisation and rest of the artistes at the sumptuous non-veg buffet that afternoon. Both ambiance and food quality were excellent as we learnt that Aroma has had the honour of hosting a number of national and international personalities in the past such as Jawahir Lal Nehru and Marshal Tito to name a few.

The second day of the Sammelan had both vocal performances. The session started with an enchanting Behag by Manjusha Patil. Quite young at present, she has all the capabilities to touch the highest in subcontinental music. Later, she sang a brilliant Sohni with a captivating Tarana in Drut. No doubt, it was her day! Shounak Abhisheki, the second artiste of the session, started with Jaijaiwanti followed by Adana but could not leave a mark as Manjusha had already stolen the show that evening. He finished his performance with the famous Bhajan: Itna to kerna swami, jab pran tan se nikley ... which gave a reasonable ending to his performance.

Last session of the Sammelan started around 11.00am on Sunday, Oct 26 with an elegant flute Jugalbandi in raga Aheer Bhairav by Shuchismitra and Debopriya. It would be pertinent to mention that Debo won a great applause when she performed alone at SIPA in March as Shuchismitra could not get a visa for Pakistan. This time at Chandigarh, both sisters breezed through the delicacies of raga music leaving the audience spell bound. To end their performance, they rendered a melodious Dhun.

Ashwini Bhide Deshpande of Jaipur-Atrauli gharana was the last performer of the Sammelan. She started off with an extremely pleasant Jaunpuri and simply did justice to what Mr Khosla had said while inviting her to the stage that she is the best female classical vocalist in India at present. After a heart touching Jaunpurai, she sang an equally good Kukab Bilawal and finished her performance with Bhagat Kabir’s famous Bhajan: Ajapa jaap japo bhai sadhu, sanson ki ker lo mala!

To mark the formal ending of the sammelan, Mr Khosla suggested ensemble recitation of a Bhajan by Narsingh Mehta. Iram, senior researcher at SIPA, joined the artistes on the stage to represent the Pakistani delegation.

Attending a music festival in India is a unique experience in many ways. Since music has a religious touch to Hindus, it enjoys certain protocols and rituals. To mention a few, for example, nobody wearing shoes can step on the stage; every artiste coming on the stage for the first time during a session is honoured by a small token of good will gesture. So, it was a great pride for Qasim and me to be called on the stage on the first and second day respectively to honour artistes prior to the start of their performances. Guess who it was on the third day? Former COAS of India! Yes, the soldier with a musical ear was sitting in the second row like all commoners in the auditorium. Announcement by the secretary of INT, Ms Vinita Gupta requesting him to come on the stage and honour Ashwini looked like a bolt from the blue for casually clad former VVIP but he was courteous enough to take off his shoes before stepping on the stage and very respectfully did the honours.

Among the accompanists, Avirbhav Verma on Tabla remained first choice for every singer or instrumentalist. Paromita Mukherji, the lady harmonium player from Mumbai, also proved her mettle as the artistes felt at ease performing with her.

One ardently wishes that such cultural exchanges between artistes and intellectuals become more frequent enabling the arts to flourish and harmony to prevail.

Musicologist, translator and researcher, the writer teaches at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) and University of the Punjab, Lahore. He can be contacted at m.atharmasood@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, December 28th, 2014