Pt.Jitendra Abhisheki...The Performer Pt.Abhisheki had received the training under three different gharanas (schools or styles of music): Gwalior,Agra and Jaipur; yet he did not receive the stamp of any particular gharana. He was a thinker and he blended these styles to develop a style of his own. He did not believe in imitation. Considering the timbre of his voice, pitch, range and expressive capacity, he forged his own characteristic style. He usually began his exposition of a raag in the Jod-Aalap or ‘Nom-Tom’ style and created a kind of foundation for his musical statements. This created an aesthetic tension in the listener’s minds and then he landed beautifully on the first beat of the khayal- the ‘sum’. His development of the khayal was always full of such tensions and releases, which pleased the audience. There always was a definite plan in the structuring of his raags; yet there used to be spontaneity in equal measure. Even though he considered ‘Bandish’ as the basic plan of his exposition, he loved trying newer modes for the elaboration of a Raag structure. He also paid attention to the text of the ‘Bandish’ and tried to invoke the right mood or ‘Rasa’ through different musical embellishments. He did not believe in the mathematical calculations of rhythm but appreciated its fluidity through different tempii. He had an equal command of both common and uncommon Raags and a large repertoire of compositions. He presented them judiciously, considering the type of audience before him.