Tabla wizard Zakir Hussain tonight said he could sense the cultural vibrancy whenever he visited this city of Pt Ravi Shankar and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.
The legendary son of famous percussionist Alla Rakha, the Jhaptal magician of yore, mesmerized an audience in his first ever jugalbandi in the city with celebrated sarodist Pt Tejendranarayan Majumder.
"The receptive audience and the instant applause at the right places made me feel it is one of the hub of culture - classical and otherwise - as Kolkata had contributed immensely to country's musical heritage," the brilliant performer and showman said after the show.
The over two and half hour show, which consisted of ragas like Jay Jayanti and Kafi - was organized by Behala Sanskriti Sammilani and themed as a tribute to Panditji.
Zakir recalled his trysts with Pt Ravi Shankar here and US and the special bonding his family shared with the stringed instrument doyen.
"The audience response and the adulation made me forget to write my formal thank you note to the organizers and whenever I come to this city I am struck by the sheer frenzy and love for music," Zakir said.
The jugalbandi was preceded by an instrumental composition by Pt Bickram Ghosh, santoor artist Pt Tarun Bhattacharya and famous Maharastrian flute artiste Pravin Godkhindi.
The whole extravaganza themed on classical music was spearheaded by Pt Tejendranarayan, a known name in Indian classical domain.
