Khammaj Thumri ~Kon Gali Gayo Shyaam -by Pandit A. Kanan & Malabika Kanan

How beautiful and calm rendition of Khammaj by Pandit A. Kanan alongwith his wife Malabika Kanan , someone rightly named it "Like a Gentle Breeze,...."

"In ‘50s and ‘60s almost all the All India Radio stations would reverberate with an extremely rich and deeply soulful voice of a Khayal singer: Pandit A Kanan (1922-2004). Later almost every young melodious voice claimed to have been initiated or trained by this legendary vocalist! Many of them are very well-known musicians and gurus now, settled all over the globe. In fact, when the ITC Sangeet Research Academy was established in 1978, it was Kanan Saheb (as he was popularly known), who joined the Academy as one of its gurus along with his and his wife Malabika Kanan’s students and admirers and continued to serve the cause of music till their last breath.

It was he who played a vital role in forming the Calcutta Music Circle to further the cause of music. During one of such baithaks Ajit Haksar, the then Chairman of ITC, heard Malabika Kanan’s scintillating rendition and wondered aloud whether musicians of such calibre could be the pillars of Hindustani classical music’s dream institution. The rest is history."

(Courtesy: The Hindu - Friday Review)

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