The sky is overcast with dark clouds. The intermittent heavy showers haven’t dampened Mumbai’s celebratory spirit. Rows of stalls along the roads selling idols teem with people even as dhol tasha pathaks (percussion troupes) play vigorously during their annual Ganesh Utsav outing. But away from all the festive frenzy, the soothing notes of the bansuri permeate Vrindaban Gurukul in Versova. Evening walkers stop by the two-decade-old large orange building to bow before its beautiful prayer room with a glass facade.
As you open the gate, you see Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia sitting near the entrance, sipping tea, with the bansuri placed on his lap. He greets you with a warm smile. A striking oil portrait of him, made by one of his admirers from Turkey, hangs behind. The walls of the adjacent spacious classroom have more paintings depicting the maestro’s many moods. There is also a bust of Ustad Allauddin Khan, the legend of the Maihar gharana and father of the inimitable Annapurna Devi, whose black-and-white photograph adorns the practice space.
