Pune: More than half of the artists performing at this year's 71st 'Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav,' scheduled from December 10 to 14, will be appearing on the stage of 'Sawai fest' for the first time. The event will be held at the Maharashtriya Mandal Sports Complex in Mukundnagar and is organised by the Arya Sangeet Prasarak Mandal.
The names of the artists performing this year at the 71st Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Festival were announced by the president of the Mandal, Shrinivas Joshi, at a press conference on Monday. The invention of the instruments cello and saxophone, which are popular in Western music, will be another feature of this year's festival in the context of Indian music.
The five-day musical voyage will begin with the sound of the shehnai, as Lokesh Anand opens the Mahotsav, followed by the Kirana style of Dr Chetna Pathak and the Banaras gayaki of Ritesh and Rajnish Mishra. A unique instrumental pairing by Pt. Shubendra Rao on sitar and Saskia Rao-De-Haas on her Bharatiya Cello will follow before the day ends with veteran vocalist Pt. Ulhas Kashalkar.
The festival will feature a vast landscape of instruments, gharanas, and ragas, bringing together artistes from the Banaras, Kirana, Jaipur-Atrauli, Gwalior, Maihar, Imdadkhani, and Bhendi Bazaar traditions. Audiences can expect renditions in ragas such as Marwa, Puriya, Yaman, Bageshree, Adana and Malkauns, among others.
Sarod player Indrayudh Majumdar and Vocalist Hrishikesh Badve will be performing on the second day, which also features Vidushi Padma Deshpande and an Indo-jazz collaboration between saxophonist George Brooks and Pt. Krishnamohan Bhatt.
The third day will feature santoor player Satyendra Solanki, followed by a vocal recital by Shrinivas Joshi. The lyrical sitar of Ustad Shujaat Hussain Khan and the Jaipur-Atrauli repertoire of Vidushi Dr Ashwini Bhide Deshpande will end the day.
While on the fourth day, vocalist Anuradha Kuber and Siddhartha Belmannu of the Bhendi Bazaar gharana, and flautist Pt. Rupak Kulkarni will perform alongside violinist Kala Ramnath and vichitraveena exponent Dr Jayanthi Kumaresh, with a concluding Kathak performance by Meghranjani Medhi.
The finale on December 14before the festival concludes with the traditional Arghya—a tribute by Kirana gharana vocalists, Pt. Upendra Bhat, Shrinivas Joshi, Anand Bhate and Viraj Joshi.
The festival’s last day will feature Pt. Upendra Bhat, Shruti Marathe, Aniruddha Aithal, Sawani Shende, violinist Dr L. Shankar and Pt. Venkatesh Kumar, and it will conclude with the 'Arghya' program, a performance by artists of the Kirana Gharana. Pt. Upendra Bhat, Srinivas Joshi, Anand Bhate and Viraj Joshi will sing in this.
Participating in the festival for the first time
Lokesh Anand, Dr Chetna Pathak, Shubhendra Rao, Saskia Rao-De Haas, Hrishikesh Badve, Indrayudh Majumdar, George Brooks, Pt. Krishna Mohan Bhat, Satendra Solanki, Siddharth Belmannu, Anuradha Kuber, Pt. Rupak Kulkarni, Dr Bharat Balvalli, Meghranjani Medhi, Shruti Vishwakarma-Marathe, Aniruddha Aital, and Dr L Shankar. The festival schedule is as follows.
Wednesday, December 10 (3 pm to 10 pm)
Lokesh Anand (Shehnai)
Dr Chetna Pathak (Vocals)
Ritesh and Rajneesh Mishra (Singing)
Pt. Shubendra Rao and Saskia Rao-De Haas (Sitar and Cello Accompaniment)
Pt. Ulhas Kashalkar (Singing)
Thursday, December 11 (4 pm to 10 pm)
Hrishikesh Badve (Singing)
Indrayudh Majumdar (Sarod)
Padma Deshpande (Singing)
George Brooks and Pt. Krishnamohan Bhatt (Saxophone and Sitar accompaniment)
Friday, December 12 (4 pm to 10 pm)
Satyendra Solanki (Sarod)
Srinivas Joshi (Vocals)
Ustad Shujat Hussain Khan (Sitar)
Dr Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande (Vocals)
Saturday, December 13 (3 pm to 12 pm)
Siddharth Belmannu (Vocals)
Anuradha Kuber (Vocals)
Pt. Rupak Kulkarni (Flute)
Dr Bharat Balvalli (Vocals)
Kala Ramnath and Dr Jayanti Kumaresh (Violin and Vichitraveena accompaniment)
Meghranjani Medhi (Kathak dance)
Sunday, December 14 (12 pm to 10 pm)
Pt. Upendra Bhat (Singer)
Shruti Vishwakarma Marathe (Singer)
Aniruddha Aital (Singer)
Savani Shende (Singer)
Dr L. Shankar (Violin)
Pt. Venkatesh Kumar (Singer)
‘Arghya’ (Participation: Pt. Upendra Bhat, Srinivas Joshi, Anand Bhate and Viraj Joshi)
