Bolava Vitthal to usher in the Aashad season

The pilgrim town of Pandharpur in the Solapur district of Maharashtra comes alive with the teeming pilgrims during Aashad Ekadashi. On the occasion, the presiding deity of the town, Vitthala, believed to be an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, is worshipped through a series of devotional renditions of abhangs by musicians and laypeople.

Bolava Vitthal is a concert replicating the devotion and celebration of Pandharpur across the country through the rendition of abhangs.

In Hyderabad, renowned vocalists Devaki Pandit and Jayateerth Mevundi will be performing Abhangwani, in a concert organised by Pancham Nishad at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, King Koti on July 2, 6.30pm. They will be accompanied by Pathak (tabla), Sukhad Munde (pakhawaj), Aditya Oke (harmonium), Suryakant Surve (additional rhythms) and Shadaj Godkhindi (flute).

Speaking to us ahead of the concert, Devaki says she’s happy to be coming to Hyderabad for the first time after the pandemic and looking forward to singing for the discerning audience of this city. “I am aware of the exposure to music, Hyderabad audience has and that motivates me to give my best and maintain a standard that they expect from the artiste.”

Piety and power

Describing lord Vitthala as the poor people’s God who’s accessible to all, Devaki says the comfort the working class find at Pandharpur is because of the hardships they face in their daily life. “People from rural Maharashtra are often bogged down with disparity, droughts, caste discrimination and endless poverty. Amid this, their only comfort is drawing spiritual solace,” says Devaki and adds that their expressions of angst and bhakti reflect in abhangs.

Women played a prominent role in the religious renaissance lending a different dimension to the bhakti movement says Devaki. Along with the devotion to Lord Vithala, the women saints highlighted the injustices in society in their abhangs and sought spirituality through a modest path.

Abhang’s allure

Of late, the abhang has entered the Carnatic concert space too despite being a different genre. Welcoming the trend, Devaki says that while Carnatic kritis are raga-dominated renditions, Abhangs carry the emotion and melody. “The concept of Parabrahma is what every singer believes in and one’s faith in their music leads them to that. The guru-shishya parampara of learning also teaches you to surrender yourself to the music and to the guru to accomplish that,” says Devaki, a disciple of Kishori Amonkar.

Devaki expresses her happiness over the increasing number of youngsters among the audience at the classical concerts. “I missed performing to a live audience during the pandemic and am so happy to be back on stage to experience that energy once again,” she says.