Last night I attend the performance of “Stories in a Song”, a series of 7 vignettes highlighting aspects of Hindustani music. I loved it! I like the idea- to use theatre to tell the stories of the songs. The music and execution were impeccable. One wouldn’t expect anything else from Shubha Mudgal and Aneesh Pradhan! The acting and singing were by the group “Arpana” and they were extraordinary. I particularly liked the full mujra thumri beautifully sung by Ketki Thatte, the hilarious nautanki, and the kajri akhada. I will add some criticism that I hope will not offend anyone. I think the first item about Buddhist nuns could be dispensed with altogether. Hindustani Airs about the interaction between and English memsaheb and a tawaif could be improved. Both characters seemed caricatural and the English lady very shrill- the story cliched despite the wonderful unexpected opera aria sung by the English lady. I would have liked a better story for the copyright, ownership segment, or even dispense with it altogether as it seems out-of-place with the other story lines and character development is weak. The story material, acting, singing, music and production were simply excellent. It does strike me that if these stories could somehow be woven together to make a whole, the effect could even be more impressive.( just an idea) Credit must go to Shubha Mudgal who conceived this project. She is an impressive singer, a remarkable speaker, and an active partner with Aneesh in various projects like this one. She is also a warm and generous human being. The performance was dedicated to the memory of Ashok Ranade who passed away in July.
