E-Paper
Anand Bhate’s spectacular performance thrills audience on final day of Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav
He was accompanied by Suyog Kundalkar (Harmonium), Bharat Kamat (Tabla), Prasad Joshi (Pakhawaj) Lalit Deshpande and Ashish Ranade (Tanpura) and Mauli Takalkar (Taal)
Anand Bhate, an exponent of Kirana Gharana and a national-award-winning classical vocalist, weaved his magic with melodious renditions including devotional songs, which were a treat for classical music aficionados, on the fifth and the final day of the 68th Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav.
Bhate, who is the disciple of Bharat Ratna Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, said that he deliberately chose to perform in the afternoon, his first at this time.
He started with a slow tempo rendition of Bandish ‘Tum Rab Tum Saheb’ in Raag Brindabani Sarang, which was immortalised by Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, in Jhap Taal and on a sultry Sunday afternoon it was applauded by the audience.
He then performed another Bandish ‘Jaoon Main Tope Balihari’ in Raag Brindabani Sarang.
He then presented a devotional song ‘Man Ram Rangi Rangale’, which also was made popular by Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and concluded with an iconic Bhajan ‘Baje Re Muraliya Baje, which was originally sung by two Bharat Ratna awardees Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and Lata Mangeshkar.
Such was the enormous impact of his breath-taking performance, that on public demand, he was allowed to extend the programme. He presented a Natya Sangeet -‘Zale Yuvati Mana’ song, penned by Pandit Prabhakar Karekar and concluded a stellar performance.
He was accompanied by Suyog Kundalkar (Harmonium), Bharat Kamat (Tabla), Prasad Joshi (Pakhawaj) Lalit Deshpande and Ashish Ranade (Tanpura) and Mauli Takalkar (Taal).
Later, 66-year-old flautist Pandit Rajendra Prasanna made his debut at the Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav and sought blessings from the audience.
He started by presenting Raag Alhaiya Bilawal, which struck a chord with the audience. He then performed two compositions, one in Raag Pahadi and Banarasi Dadra and was also given an extended time of ten minutes as he made his mark at the mega carnival of Indian classical music.
