Artists, disciples, fans bid adieu to sarod maestro Pt Rajeev Taranath

As he believed in secular principles, no rituals were followed during his last rites.

Mysuru:Fans, friends, close associates and disciples of sarod maestro Pt Rajeev Taranath paid tribute to him with fond words and music. They celebrated his life, by reliving their experiences with him, recalling their associations with him; by sharing their thoughts about his excellence in music, his humanism, inclusiveness, radical rational progressive approach towards life and more on Sunday evening.

All these could be witnessed at the event- ‘Vikyatha Sarod Kalavida Pt Rajeev Taranath Avarige Preethiya Namana’ organised by Pandit Rajeev Taranath memorial trust in association with Department of Kannada and Culture at Karnataka Kalamandira, on Hunsur Road, in Mysuru.

Noted vocalist and writer T M Krishna shared about his bonding and connection with Pt Rajeev Taranath, through similarities and cordial disagreements with him, in the way they both looked at life and music. He explained, "Pt Rajeev was not restricted to his concerts within the auditorium as a classical musician, being deeply faithful to music. But he even opened himself to the outside world through his social activity as a critical thinker; expressed embraced compassion and empathy to humanity. He lives on with his ideas," he said.

Tabala and Sitar Maestro Pt Nayan Ghosh who performed Sitar and Tabla with Rajeev Taranath in more than 100 concerts from 1984, said that Pt Rajeev's mastery in Sarod was close to his Guru Ustad Ali Akbar Khan's; and his tonal quality of Sarod was identical to his Guru's. He even unveiled Pt Rajeev's progressive as well as humorous personality, and how he believed in reflecting contemporary developments of the world through music. He spoke about his mastery over eight languages, his skill to cook finest dishes, how he had a golden heart though he was straight forward and appeared strict. He advised his disciples Krishna, Sachin, Sohan Neelakant and others to celebrate his life through his music.

Noted vocalist and writer T M Krishna, Tabala and Sitar Maestro Pt Nayan Ghosh, Writer Vijaya, Writer-poet Jayanth Kaykini Director of Kannada and Culture Director Dharani Devi Malagatti, offer floral tribute to Pt Rajeev Taranath at the event- ‘Vikyatha Sarod Kalavida Pt Rajeev Taranath Avarige Preethiya Namana’ organised by Pandit Rajeev Taranath  memorial trust in association with Department of Kannada and Culture at Karnataka Kalamandira, on Hunsur Road, in Mysuru on Sunday evening.

Writer Vijaya spoke about her ‘Jeevada Gelaya’ for more than 40 years from 1970s and unveiled his multifaceted personality by sharing about Pt Rajeev's love for literature, concern to help those in difficulty, approach of equality for all, his love for minorities, oppressed communities. She shared certain rare facts about how he was the first to compose the backdrop music for musical fountains at Brindavan garden to his major role in organising Vishwa Kannada Sammelana in Mysuru. She even unfolded his role behind establishing 'Abhinaya Taranaga' theatre institute to his involvement in helping those involved in movement during the Emergency situation in the Country along with her, writer U R Ananth Murthy and others. She felt he deserved more recognition in life. His life is a model for all, she said.

Writer-poet Jayanth Kaykini shared about his inclusive humanising nature and how he shared messages to people in an effective way by blending music.

‘A Life In Music’, a documentary by Amshan Kumar with excerpts of his concerts and interviews was screened on the occasion.

A musical tribute was offered to the Sarod maestro. Theatre person H Janardhan (Janni) sang songs from the play ‘Kuri’ for which Rajeev Taranath had composed music in 1978.

Pt Nayan Gosh played sitar, accompanied by Pt Ishan Gosh on tabala.

Director of Kannada and Culture Director Dharani Devi Malagatti presided over the event. His disciple Krishna compered and presented the event.