E-Paper
102nd Sankat Mochan Music Festival: A confluence of musical and dance performances to enchant Varanasi
Among the participating artists, many are internationally acclaimed, said Sankat Mochan Temple chief priest Prof Vishwambhar Nath Mishra
Over 100 classical artists, including 11 Padma awardees and 16 first-time performers, will participate in the 102nd edition of the six-day, night-long Sankat Mochan Music Festival at the Lord Sankat Mochan Temple premises in Varanasi, from April 16 to April 21, 2025. Among the participating artists, many are internationally acclaimed, said Sankat Mochan Temple chief priest Prof Vishwambhar Nath Mishra.
Prof Mishra added that on the auspicious occasion of Hanuman Jayanti, falling on Chaitra Shukla Purnima (April 12, 2025), the temple premises will witness special decorations, tableaux, aarti, and worship of Lord Shri Sankat Mochan Hanuman.
In the morning session on Hanuman Jayanti, events including Shehnai performances, Rudrabhishek by Brahmins, recitation of Shri Ramcharitmanas, Shri Sitaram Sankirtan, Ramarcha Poojan, and Sunderkand recitation from Shri Valmiki Ramayana will take place. Additionally, at 5 pm, Kirtan Mandals from Ramakrishna Mission will present sankirtan, and Akhand Paath of Shri Ramcharitmanas will continue into the night, organised by various Ramayana Mandals of the city.
In the lead-up to the music festival, the Sarvabhoum Ramayana Sammelan will be organised from April 13 to April 15, 2025, featuring storytelling sessions by prominent Manas speakers from Kashi and across the country, from 5 pm to 10 pm. Speakers include Pt. Umashankar Sharma (Bareilly), Pt. Kishan Upadhyay (Kishanganj), Dr. Chandrakant Chaturvedi, and Prof. Nalin Shyam Kamil.
Starting April 16, the Sankatmochan Sangeet Samaroh will begin at the temple premises.
On April 16, Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia (Flute), Janani Murali (Bharatanatyam), Pt Rahul Sharma (Santoor), Dr Yella Venkateswara Rao (Mridangam), Pt Praveen Godkhindi (Flute), Pt Ajay Pohankar (Vocal) Pt Vikas Maharaj and Vibhas Maharaj (Sarod-Sitar) and Shri Rohit Pawar (Kathak) will perform.
Lavanya Shankar (Bharatanatyam), Dr Rajesh Shah (Sitar), Pt Ajay Chakravarty (Vocal), Vivek Pandya (Tabla Solo), Pt Purbayan Chatterjee (Sitar), Sohini Roy Chowdhury (Vocal), Manjunath Madhavappa, Nagaraj Madhavappa (Violin) and Pt Neeraj Parikh (Vocal) on April 17.
April 18 lineup include U Rajesh (Mandolin), Pt Sivamani (Zoom), Saurav-Gaurav Mishra (Kathak), Omkar Havaldar (Vocal), Pt Vishwamohan Bhatt and Saleel Bhatt (Mohan Veena and Satwik Veena), Deepika Varadarajan (Vocal), Rajendra Sejwar (Vocal), Abhay Rustam Sopori (Santoor) and Pt Harish Tiwari (Vocal).
V Anuradha Singh (Kathak), Pt Sahitya Kumar Nahar and Pt Shotash Nahar (Sitar-Violin duet), Ustad Wasifuddin Dagar (Dhrupad), Pt Jaydeep Ghosh (Sarod), Pt Ramshankar and Sneha Shankar (Vocal duet), Shri Prabhakar-Diwakar Kashyap (Vocal) and Vidushi Kankana Banerjee (Vocal) will be performing on April 19.
April 20 will feature the performances of Naynika Ghosh (Kathak), Abhishek Lahidi (Sarod), Arman Khan (Vocal), Pt Tarun Bhattacharya (Santoor), Pt Jayateerth Mevundi (Vocal), Shahana Banerjee (Sitar) and Pt Sanju Sahai (Tabla Solo)
On the final day, April 21, Pt Ratikant Mohapatra (Odissi dance), Pt Ulhas Kashalkar (Vocal), Ustad Mehtab Ali Niazi (Sitar), Pt Anup Jalota (Vocal), Pt Suresh Gandharva (Vocal), Pt Ronu Majumdar and Shri Rishikesh Majumdar (Flute duet) and Pt Sajan Mishra and Shri Swaransh Mishra (Vocal) will enthral the audience.
