Smt. Lalith J. Rao is a musician by choice. Even though she has a Master’s Degree in Engineering from the University of New Brunswick in Canada, she decided to take up Hindustani vocal classical music as a full-time pursuit.

She received her early training in music from Pt. Rama Rao Naik, later Pt. Dinkar Kaikini, and finally for fourteen years from Padma Bhushan Khadim Hussain Khan, a doyen of the Agra-Atrauli Gharna.

Laith Rao had performed in all major Sangeet Sammelans all over India. She also performed many times in Europe, USA and Canada. She has to her credit several commercial cassettes and a commercial CD. She is a top grade artiste of the All India Radio.

She was the Chief Co-ordinator for the Ford Foundation archival project of the Sangeet Research Academy of Calcutta for two years. During this period she recorded several old master of Hindustani Classical Music singing their traditional Ragas and compositions.

A traditionalist to the core, she espouses the beauties and intricacies of pure classical vocalism, exhibiting the purity of Ragas and highlighting the rich and varied repertoire of the multi-faceted Agra-Atrauli Gharana.

Lalith's Delighful Performance

For the vast assembly of Lalit Rao's fans, her performance at the Suburban Music Circle was an electrifying experience, on the night of Saturday the 25th Sept. at the Gujarati Stree Mandal Hall. A dedicated disciple of Ustad Khadim Husain Khan and an exponent of the Agra gayaki, Lalit has Kala as well as Akademic qualifications. Her incisive voice has the reach of the basket-baller (which she was) and her tayyar reveals programmed perfection to an electronics expert which she could have well opted to be, had not music been her abiding art and lifelong love.

Lalit Rao commenced her recital with Shudh Kalyan which in its pristine purity was as shudh as unadulterated desi ghee. In its presentation one savored the impressive authenticity of her Agra lineage. She reveled in sweeping alaps, rhythmic upaj, well-structured tihayis and breathtaking sargams. Having done full justice to her Shudh Kalyan, Lalit turned to Hameer, a raga that one seldom hears these days. Her bandish 'Dekhi aisi pyari lalanki sundar moorat' was an endearing piece. She rounded off the first session with a Kajri.

Her post-interval Chandrakauns was indeed the piece-de-resistance, the more so because she prefaced it with nomtom alaps where aakar gave the raga its well-rounded form and completeness. Nontom is not an exlusive male preserve and Dr. Sumati Mutatkar (to cite the example of one other eminent vocalist) used nomtom to great advantage - scan Lalit. Her Chandrakauns is prevalent in other gharanas by the name Kaunshikanada, but as the immortal bard of Avon eulogized the rose, her Chandrakauns was just as sweet. The Sohoni Composition of her Ustad with its Tarana Tailpiece was rendered with deep fervor. In the concluding Jogia, however, one felt that Lalit was tiring, as her voice seemed to lose its edge, but then it had been a longdrawn recital - and an exciting and rewarding one. The honors for the instrumental support were evenly shard by Gurudas Borkar on tabla and Baban Manjrekar on the harmonium.