Hindustan Times - New Delhi
Noted vocalist Kankana Banerjee was at her best in the rendition of two khayals in Yaman Kalyan (set to jhoomra and teen taals) which is one of the best evening melodies. Her "bol alapas" and "taans" in the slow khayal were not only reposeful, but these fully brought out some of the subtle beauties of the raga, particularly with the use of the two "madhyams". The embellishments in the fast composition were scintillating and vigorous without taking away from the musicality of the recital. She concluded her performance with a composition in Desh the rendition of which was equally delightful.
"ENCHANTING RECITAL BY KANKANA" - Hindustan Times - New Delhi
The highlight of the three-day music and dance festival organised by the Kalyani Kala Kendra to pay homage to the queen ghazal, Begum Akhtar, was the enchanting vocal recital of Kankana Banerjee.
It was not merely enchanting, but was soaked in the best classical tradition. Her melodious voice was able to fetch innumerable nuances in Shud Kalyan and Sahana. Kankana harnessed this note to effect and highlighted its inherent beauty. Her Sahana was another notable achievement. Her greatest asset is the ability to blend aesthetics with virtuosity.
"KANKANA'S EXCELLENT RECITAL" - Hindustan Times - New Delhi
The last day's programme had commenced with Kankana Banerjee's excellent vocal recital. Kankana is one of the country's prominent vocalists and is not new to Delhi. In fact, she had participated in this festival last year also. Even so, she had a large appreciative audience, and her recital was full of form and freshness. Her opening vilambit khayal in Suddha Kalyan was an able exposition of this rather difficult evening melody. Kankana executed the task with considerable skill, both in the slow khayal and the brisk tarana. The delineation of the raga was systematic and embellishments had variety.
She next enthralled the audience with a khayal in Shahana, set to madhya teentala, and a tarana in drut ek-tala. Apart from virtuosity, her powerful, melodious voice enabled her to spread the embellishments to the upper octave with perfect ease.
