Framed Tribute

At the Sawai Gandharva Smarak at Ganeshkhind road,over 40 photographs of the late Bharat Ratna Pandit Bhimsen Joshi are on display. A portrait of the maestro delivering an alaap is one of them. There are several more that capture moments of him mesmerising audiences with his performances. A casual frame depicts him talking about music at his residence. The exhibits are part of Arya Sangeet Prasarak Mandal’s ‘Swaradhiraj Bhimsen’,a special photo exhibition on the life of Panditji to mark his first death anniversary. The exhibition will start from today and run till February 4. Noted artist Ravi Paranjape will inaugurate the exhibition today at 11am.

For industrial photographer Sateesh Paknikar,who has clicked all the pictures on display,chronicling Panditji’s life,was an honour. They are part of a book of the same title that was officially released during the Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav last December. It is a collection of Pandit Bhimsen Joshi’s photographs and his thoughts on music,and Paknikar worked on the book for six months.

Each picture in the book is accompanied by a quote by Panditji. “His opinion on music was as inspiring as his music. So when I was compiling the book,I thought of putting the quotes in too,” says Paknikar,who has put together Panditji’s life in pictures from 1984 to 2007.

Not surprisingly,Paknikar is passionate about music. “I have chronicled more than 400 artists in 30,000 pictures,but clicking Panditji was a joy. Once he gets lost in the music,his expressions are priceless.” Paknikar has traveled around the state to chronicle the images of performing artists.

The exhibition will be on between 10am and 2pm,and again from 4pm to 8pm