Sufi maestro Vandana Jyotirmayee in city

Oman-based ghazal and Sufi maestro Vandana Jyotirmayee mesmerised the audience at the Telugu University’s NTR Auditorium on Sunday. The event was organised by Samaj Darpan in association with Department of Language and Culture, Telangana.

Trained in classical music of Gaya and Kirana Gharana— Vandana sang various genres of Hindustani classical and light classical music – Sufi songs, Thumri and Ghazal.

She established good rapport with the audience soon after assuming the dais and made the evening memorable with songs like “Kuchh yaadgaare shaher-e-sitamgar hi le chalein” by Naser Kasmi; “Aahat si koi aaye tow lagta hai ki tum ho” by Jaan Nisaar Akhtar; and “Aapki yaad aati rahi” by Makhdoom Mohaiuddin who was a poet from Hyderabad.

Sufi kalaam sang in the praise of Murshid and the almighty “Ae ri sakhi moray piya ghar aaye” captivated the audience, while “Chhaap tilak sab chheeni re”, and “Dama dum mast Kalandar” got a huge response from the audience.

Harijeet Singh accompanied her on tabla, Yaaqoob Bhaai on harmonium and Niraj on guitar. Living thousands of kilometres away from the Indian shores, Vandana passionately continues her pursuit of classical vocal Indian music. She is a teacher by profession. Decades of her 'sadhna' resulted in the release of her first album, 'Ardaas'.

“I was introduced to the formal training of Indian classical music by famous thumri singer Kameshwar Pathak from Gaya gharana. Later, I became the disciple of Pandit Shambhu Upadhyaya from Kirana gharana," said Vandana.

“Music came to me just like fragrance comes to flower. So, it was nothing like I was doing something special to become something. I am thankful to almighty for giving me this gift,” she said while commenting on her musical journey.