A decade since she made her breakthrough in Bollywood with song ‘Iktara’ in the movie ‘Wake Up Sid’, Sufi vocalist Kavita Seth continues to bask in its success today. But the 48-year-old still feels that there is nothing better than a live concert, or a ‘baithak’. Advertising “I grew up in Bareilly, where we would often gather to hear travelling musicians, qawaals and shayars, visiting our city. I used to wait eagerly for such mehfils so that I could perform there as well,” she told The Indian Express ahead of her performance at Haroof — a Baithak revival series — at G5A Foundation for Contemporary Culture in Mahalaxmi on Friday. “This set up allows for a bridge to be built between the performer and the audience. It’s also a space for me to try out my new compositions,” Seth said. In addition to Sufi Kalaam, the two-hour programme will include Seth’s popular pieces, such as ‘Chaap Tilak’ and ‘Sab Jag Maya’. While there has been a resurgence of private baithaks across the country, for Mumbai-based Alleya Asghar, owner and curator of Haroof, a public and ticket-based baithak gives music lovers an opportunity to listen and interact with an artiste. “The baithak is an immersive environment, up close and personal. There is a dialogue between the audience and the artiste, who can explain the gayaki — the verse being sung for a particular raag, and how they interpret it. There is also room for requests,” Asghar said. After a 20-year career in world of advertising, media and film, Asghar formed Haroof to promote artistes with different styles of gayaki and genres in the Hindustani vocal tradition —sufi kalam, ghazal, geet, ragas and even Bengali and Punjabi folk music. Advertising “In August 2018, we had our first show with Radhika Sood Nayak. The second show, in September featured Shibani Sur, a fourth generation gayaki artist of Kirana gharana. In November, we showcased Ronkini Gupta, an upcoming artiste,” she said.

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