Journalism of Courage
This music fest promises a whole world of flowing,mellifluous music. Swar Zankar Music Festival 2010-2011 has been organised by the Violin Academy and The Centre for Promotion of Music,and will run from October 29 to October 31 in Pune. Slated to run in four cities,Kolhapur,Aurangabad and Nashik,apart from Pune,the fest has a list of artistes that will surely make any music-lover’s heart go blooming.
Legends like Pandit Shivkumar Sharma (Santoor),Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia (Basuri),Ustad Shahid Parvez (Sitar),Pandit Daya Shankar (Shehnai),Pandit Vishwamohan Bhatt (Mohan Veena),Pandit Budhaditya Mukherjee (Sitar),Pandit Atulkumar (Violin),Pandit Bhavani Shankar (Pakhwaj),Pandit Anindo Chatterjee (Tabla),Pandit Yogesh Samsi and Pandit Mukesh Jhadhav (Tabla),vocalists like Pandit Rajan and Sajan Mishra (Delhi Gharana),Pandita Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande (Jaipur Gharana) and Pandita Kaushiki Chakravarty (Patiala Gharana) will participate and leave the audience spell-bound with their performances at this sammelan.
The Violin Academy is an open forum for music lovers. So far,the academy has released two books and two CDs dedicated to classical music. “Our aim is to impart and encourage as much new talent in classical as is possible. Even through an event like Swar Zankar,we try to balance the presence of stalwarts with performances by new and upcoming artistes like Shaunak Abhisheki (Agra Gharana),Manjusha Kulkarni-Patil (Agra Gharana),Nagarajrao Hawaldar (Kirana Gharana),Manjiri Asnare (Jaipur Gharana),Jayateerth Mevundi (Kirana Gharana) and Dr Mohan Darekar (Delhi Gharana)”,says Pandit Atulkumar Upadhye,principal of the Upadhyes Violin Vadan Vidyalaya,which founded the Violin Academy in 2003 as a means of further promoting the cause of popularisation of the instrument. The academy has been founded by my father,Guruvarya B S Upadhye,and has always strived to bring up the stature of violin as a solo instrument. This year,the vidyalaya enters its 60th year,and we have lined up a host of events in celebration of this milestone, says Upadhye.
The Center for Promotion of Music has taken up a unique aim as its initiative. The organisation wishes to promote the rich culture of Indian classical music to the younger generation. One of its founding principles even emphasises on the importance of this form of music as a stress-buster. Our aim,as I have said earlier,is to catch the young. We want the youth to be a part of this classical movement,” concludes Upadhye.
