“Times have changed. Classical music cannot be [fully] experienced if the time is shortened. It cannot be finished off in 15 minutes…..It does not matter if people are not receptive or have not heard classical music [before].

“Classical music is designed to have a very slow tempo composition, starting with a lower octave, then going to the middle octave and going higher, and going from slow tempo phrases to faster tempo tals (beats). This is the design of Raga Sangeet of classical music,” doyen of Indian classical music Arati Ankalikar Tikekar told her spellbound audience at the Indian High Commission auditorium in Wellington on March 4.

The celebrated maestro from Karnataka was on her first overseas tour since receiving India’s highest award for the  performing arts, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, with Wellington as the first leg of her New Zealand itinerary.

 Tikekar recalled that “most of the people I met on my arrival in New Zealand for the concert wondered if I would find an appreciative audience for an Indian  classical music concert.”

“We have to give credit to our great tradition of Indian classical music and also to you [audience] for having the love for our music,” Tikekar told the assembly, amid applause. 

The evening kicked off with India’s High Commissioner to New Zealand Neeta Bhushan presenting bouquets to Tikekar and her accompanying artists, who included  Kishori Telang (vocals), Samir Bhalodkar (samvadini) and  Sanjay Dixit (tabla).

Turning to Tikekar, High Commissioner Bhushan said:  “One thing you will see is that [a] love for Indian classical music is immense here in New Zealand. It’s not just [about] Bollywood and [other] dance forms.”

She referenced the Indian classical artists who performed on the occasion of Hindi Divas in Auckland recently.

“It is truly momentous and historic that, after receiving the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, you have come to NZ and performed for the first time on the high commission premises,” High Commissioner Bhushan noted.

The event was compered by Megha Barpande, who clinched the role after successfully auditioning for it. She described the opportunity as a “dream come true.”

Barpande enlightened the audience about Tikekar, saying she was a celebrated Indian classical singer known for her exceptional vocal abilities, who had a deep understanding of Hindustani music. The 60-year-old maestro trained from an early age under Pandit Vasantrao Kulkarni of the Agra and Gwalior gharanas, as well as Kishori tai Amonkar of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana.

Barpande then introduced the accompanying artists to the audience. Kishori Telang trained as a vocalist under Tikekar, while Wellington-based Sanjay Dixit learned tabla under Gyan Shankar Ghosh. Samir Bhalodkar, an Auckland Transport employee, has played the samvadini for over two decades.

Tikekar enthralled the audience with her rendition of Raag Puriya-Dhanashree, which is sung at dusk. She then presented a Chaiti, sung in the month of Chait or Chaitra, the first month on the Hindu calendar.  This was followed in the next segment by an Abhang, a musical form primarily from Maharashtra.

Next up was “Me Raadhika” from her album Tejomay Nadbrahm. The concert concluded with the Raag Bhairavi, which evoked a broad spectrum of emotions.  

The event was organised by Prashant Belwalkar of the Migrant Heritage Charitable Trust, which promotes Indian art and culture, in collaboration with the Wellington Maharashtrian Association.