Baithaks Are Back

Once on the verge of extinction, the culture of intimate musical gatherings is making a strong comeback

- Anubhuti Krishna

As a senior artist, Usha Uthup has performed on many stages, but it is the recent experiences of her singing in musical baithaks that she talks of with utmost joy. "It is a great experience to be singing to a diverse audience who engage and enjoy my music so much and are fantastically receptive to it," she says. Musical baithaks and mehfils have been a part of India's cultural repertoire for centuries but never before have they seen such a vast outreach-both in terms of the audience demographic and the variety of artists performing for them.

Delhi-based Ibtida - Ek Mehfil, which hosted these baithaks with Uthup, is among the frontrunners of this resurgence. They have brought a host of senior artists like Uthup, Hariharan, Shilpa Rao, Kavita Seth and Papon to a select audience via thoughtfully curated shows. "Ibtida - Ek Mehfil was born out of the need to revive the culture of musical gatherings. We wanted to bridge the gap between the artist and listeners that exists in large-scale performances through a format where both could converse," says co-founder Tanvi Singh Bhatia.