One of the country’s famous Indian classical music festivals – the Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav – began on Wednesday and will continue to unfold over the next five days at Maharashtra Mandal Krida Sankul, Mukundnagar.
In keeping with the tradition of the past 50 years, family members and disciples of Sawai Gandharva and Bharat Ratna Pandit Bhimsen Joshi gathered near the bust of Sawai Gandharva at Chhatrapati Sambhaji Garden, J M Road, to pay homage to the legend before kickstarting the music festival. This is done every year on the first day of the iconic music festival. Shrinivas Joshi, Sheila Deshpande and Shruti Deshpande were present on the occasion.
The first day of the mega music festival began with noted Shehnai artist, Tukaram Daithankar, performing Raag Madhuvanti and a Bhajan ‘Vaishnav Jan Toh Tene Kahiye’. He was accompanied by Nitin Tukaram Daithankar on Shehnai; Nikhil Phatak’s disciple, Kartik Swami on Tabla; Ganesh Daithankar on Surpeti; and Ketaki Daithankar and Madhuri Daithankar on Tanpura.
The second session of the first day saw soul-stirring renditions by Sanjay Garud, disciple of Pandit Shrikant Deshpande and an exponent of the Kirana Gharana. He performed ‘Ab Toh Badi Der’ in Raag Bhimpalasi; Bandish ‘Biraj Mein Dhum Machaye Shyam’ in Dhrut Tritaal; and an Abhang ‘Majhe Maher Pandhari’ immortalised by Bharat Ratna Pandit Bhimsen Joshi. He was accompanied by Dinesh Majhire (Vocal), Shantibhushan Deshpande on Harmonium, Rohan Pandharpurkar on Tabla, Prasad Kulkarni and Rutvij Hirlekar on Tanpura, Mauli Phatak on Pakhwaj, and Ustad Farooq Lateef Khan on Sarangi.
{{/usCountry}}The second session of the first day saw soul-stirring renditions by Sanjay Garud, disciple of Pandit Shrikant Deshpande and an exponent of the Kirana Gharana. He performed ‘Ab Toh Badi Der’ in Raag Bhimpalasi; Bandish ‘Biraj Mein Dhum Machaye Shyam’ in Dhrut Tritaal; and an Abhang ‘Majhe Maher Pandhari’ immortalised by Bharat Ratna Pandit Bhimsen Joshi. He was accompanied by Dinesh Majhire (Vocal), Shantibhushan Deshpande on Harmonium, Rohan Pandharpurkar on Tabla, Prasad Kulkarni and Rutvij Hirlekar on Tanpura, Mauli Phatak on Pakhwaj, and Ustad Farooq Lateef Khan on Sarangi.
{{/usCountry}}In the third session of the day, Kalapini Komkali paid tribute to her father and Guru, Pandit Kumar Gandharva to mark his centenary birth year. Her magical renditions included a slow-tempo Bada Khyaal in Raag Puriya Dhanashree; and a Bandish ‘Aaj Ra Din Dooba’ in Dhrut Teen Taal – both composed by her father and guru, Pandit Kumar Gandharva. She then performed ‘Mruganayani Tero Yarari’ and a Bandish ‘Langarwa Kaise Ghar Jau’ in Raag Hameer. She concluded with a Bhajan ‘Sunta Hai Guru Gyani’. She was accompanied by Suyog Kundalkar on Harmonium, Prashant Pandav on Tabla, and Vatsal Kapale and Vaidehi Awadhani on Tanpura.