71st Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav to feature new blood alongside renowned veterans

Announcing the lineup at a press conference, Shrinivas Joshi, Executive President of the Mandal, said, “This year, along with senior maestros, we are committed to giving a capable platform to promising young artists. More than half of the performers will be presenting their art here for the first time.”

The festival will feature a vast landscape of gharanas, instruments and ragas. (File)

The 71st Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav will be held from December 10 to 14 at the Maharashtriya Mandal Sports Complex in Mukundnagar. Organised by the Arya Sangeet Prasarak Mandal, this year’s edition emphasizes new voices, with over half the participating artistes performing at the event for the very first time.

Announcing the lineup at a press conference, Shrinivas Joshi, Executive President of the Mandal, said, “This year, along with senior maestros, we are committed to giving a capable platform to promising young artists. More than half of the performers will be presenting their art here for the first time.”

The festival will feature a vast landscape of gharanas, instruments and ragas, bringing together artistes from the Kirana, Jaipur-Atrauli, Gwalior, Banaras, Bhendi Bazaar, Maihar and Imdadkhani traditions. Audiences can expect renditions in ragas such as Yaman, Marwa, Puriya, Malkauns, Bageshree and Adana and many more.

The five-day musical journey 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 add an innovative dimension before the day ends with veteran vocalist Pt. Ulhas Kashalkar.

Vocalist Hrishikesh Badve and sarod player Indrayudh Majumdar bring fresh energy 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 anchor the day.

On the fourth day, vocalist Siddhartha Belmannu, Anuradha Kuber of the Bhendi Bazaar gharana, and flautist Pt. Rupak Kulkarni will perform alongside violinist Kala Ramnath and vichitraveena exponent Dr. Jayanthi Kumaresh. The day concludes with a Kathak performance by Meghranjani Medhi.

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The finale on December 14 will feature Pt. Upendra Bhat, Shruti Marathe, Aniruddha Aithal, Sawani Shende, violinist Dr. L. Shankar and Pt. Venkatesh Kumar, before the festival concludes with the traditional Arghya—a tribute by Kirana gharana vocalists Pt. Upendra Bhat, Shrinivas Joshi, Anand Bhate and Viraj Joshi.

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