How Mahesh Kale is taking his well-curated abhang shows to the younger audience

The Hindu

3 days ago

Abhangs, which have always been popular in Maharashtra, have now gained a pan-Indian appeal. Among the organisations that present abhang concerts, Pancham Nishad stands out for organising multi-city abhang festival every year, featuring well-known Maharashtrian and non-Maharashtrian singers.
A relatively new entrant to the abhang scene is the U.S.-based Hindustani vocalist, Mahesh Kale. 'Tired of waiting to be invited to perform', he decided to organise his own well-curated abhang shows in India. Titled 'Abhangwari', they were held in eight cities this year.
With a Masters in Management and Engineering, Mahesh brings a carefully-crafted strategy to his music. Apart from the judiciously planned content, he adds a visual dimension to his abhang concerts to capture the younger audience.
Interesting narratives
'These elements help build the mood. If you can create a visual sense of the music, why not? By adding interesting narrative to the visuals depicting varkaris (pilgrims) marching to Pandharpur, I try to lend an extra dimension to the singing and convey the essence of these devotional songs.
In Delhi, Mahesh chose the Bharat Mandapam auditorium for his Abhangwari concert. Unlike the usual set up, strobe lights lit up the space while mist created a haze on the stage. The huge line-up of accompanying instruments including flute, violin, harmonium, tabla, pakhawaj and dholak heightened the experience. 'Youngsters are used to heavy background sound and I am trying that in classical music.'
All the artistes were attired in white to create a serene and spiritual ambience for an abhang concert.
Mahesh started his concert with the chant 'Jai Jai Ram Krishna Hari', which set the tone for the evening. The audience too joined in. They chanted along and kept beat by clapping. In the process, building up the musical tempo, and finally reaching a crescendo. A trained classical musician (he is a disciple of Pt. Jitendra Abhisheki) Mahesh composed this piece in raag Kalyan/Aiman.
Mahesh kept his singing simple and did not attempt to show off his virtuosity as a singer. The aim was to inspire devotion and instil peace in the listener. Some songs were fast-paced, and the variety of the presentation was laudable.
After the concert, Mahesh revealed some of the compositions were his own while some others were tuned by his guru. An unusual bhajan in Hindi, was composed by the award-winning film composer, Narendra Bhide. This was Mahesh's way of showing that music is beyond language barriers.