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Vocal music maestros grace final day with melodious performances
Vocal maestros took centre stage of the fifth and final session of the ‘Sawai’ festival on Sunday, delivering a mesmerising blend of classical performances from both seasoned veterans and emerging artistes
Sawai Gandharva Mahotsav
Vocal maestros took centre stage of the fifth and final session of the ‘Sawai’ festival on Sunday, delivering a mesmerising blend of classical performances from both seasoned veterans and emerging artistes. The concluding day of the 71st Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav opened with a series of soulful and energetic recitals that captivated the audience.
The performances began with Pandit Upendra Bhat, who opened with Raag Asavari (Komal Rishabh). He first rendered the vilambit ektaal bandish ‘Sabahi Mera hot…’, followed by the drut teentaal composition ‘Mein to tumaro daasi…’. He then transitioned to Raag Hindol Bahar, presenting the teentaal bandish ‘Koyaliyan bole chale jaat…’, showcasing his mastery and emotive depth.
Pandit Bhat continued with a Kannada bhajan and a traditional Warkari abhanga ‘Samacharana tujhe dekhile…’, before concluding his performance with the powerful abhanga ‘Yach sathi kela hota attahaas…’. He was accompanied by Niranjan Lele on harmonium, Sachin Pawgi on tabla, Ramakant Paranjape on violin, Ganesh Chakankar on pakhawaj, and Vinayak Hegde and Dhananjay Bhate on tanpura.
The second performance of the session featured Shruti Vishwakarma-Marathe, who opened with Raag Patadeep. She began with the vilambit teentaal bandish ‘Naiyya mori paar karo…’, followed by the drut teentaal bandish ‘Jaage more bhaag…’. She then presented a tarana in ektaal and concluded with the Nirguni bhajan ‘Nirbhay Nirgun…’, popularised by Pandit Kumar Gandharva.
Her distinctive harkats and murkis were particularly appreciated by the audience. She was accompanied by Pranav Gurav on tabla, Leeladhar Chakradeo on harmonium, with Aditi Pote and Tejal Kulkarni providing tanpura and vocal support.
The third performance of the day was by Aniruddha Aithal, who began with Raag Multani, presenting the vilambit teentaal bandish ‘Saheb Jamaal…’. The stability and maturity of his rendition captivated the audience as he gradually increased the laya during the badhat of the raag. He concluded the Multani with the drut ektaal composition ‘Nainan me aan ban…’.
Providing a contrast, Aithal then rendered a Kannada rangageet ‘Moksh sadana moh harana…’, before concluding with the powerful Kannada bhajan ‘Odi Barayya Vaikunthapati…’. His performance received a standing ovation, prompting him to extend the recital with an additional segment of the bhajan. He was accompanied by Ravindra Katoti on harmonium, Bharat Kamat on tabla, and Digambar Jadhav and Akshay Tawade on tanpura. Anand Deshmukh anchored the session.
Earlier in the day, the Vatsalabai Joshi Award—presented annually by the Arya Sangeet Prasarak Mandal—was conferred upon Mauli Takalkar of Pune at the 71st Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Festival. Takalkar has provided taal sangat to four generations of artistes over more than eight decades.
The award, comprising a cash prize of ₹51,000 and a citation, was presented at the Maharashtra Mandal Sports Complex in Mukundnagar. Present on the occasion were Srinivas Joshi, executive president of Arya Sangeet Prasarak Mandal; trustees Shilpa Joshi, Shubhada Mulgund, Milind Deshpande and Dr Prabhakar Deshpande; and vocalist Anand Bhate.
