Pune’s Diwali Pahat: the festive tradition of musical mornings

At the Tilak Smarak Mandir at 6 am on Monday, October 20, curator Mandar Bapat opens the Pahat, with a bridge between gharana rigour and folk vitality, Marathi and Hindi classics alongside Bhupali, Ovi, Gondhal, Lavani, Lokgeet—voiced by Chandrashekhar Mahamuni, Radhika Atre, and Rashmi Moghe with orchestra.

“There’s something magical about Diwali Pahat, the music meeting the first sunrays; it feels like the city itself is singing,” says Chetan Desai, an engineer.

The Dr Vasantrao Deshpande Memorial Foundation sustains its four-decade tradition at the Ramkrishna More Auditorium with the 32nd Diwali Pahat Mehfil at 6.30 am on Monday. Expect a tapestry of classical and semi-classical from Bhagyesh Marathe, grandson of Pt. Ram Marathe and renowned singer Bhakti Gokhale Page.

The city’s free, open-to-all anchor is the Arya Sangeet Prasarak Mandal Mehfil at Bharat Natya Mandir at 7 am on Monday, where Viraj Joshi, Sawani Shende, Shrinivas Joshi, and Upendra Bhat carry forward a lineage Punekars treasure.

Since decades, Diwali Pahat has been the city’s way of welcoming Diwali, with music, togetherness, and the first light of dawn. (Express Photo)

Viraj Joshi says, “This year we’ll present classical music, bhajans, and thumris along with peti, tabla, and even keyboard. We’ll cover all aspects of music from classical to movie songs; it will be a new and unique experience for the audience.”

Upendra Bhat adds, “I’ll present Gujri Todi and a composition directed by Pt. Bhimsen Joshi ‘Chiranjeev Raho.’ Diwali morning is auspicious, and the music spreads joy and happiness.”

At the Yashwantrao Chavan Natyagruha, Aarohi Prastut: Diwali Padwa Pahat–slated to begin at 6 am on Wednesday, October 22–will be a festival of forms, song, flute, dance, narration, poetry, and literature with Amar Oak, Mrunmayee Deshpande, Sharayu Date, and Limca record-holder Prashant Naseri, anchored by Ketaki Kulkarni and produced by Avinash Kulkarni.

“The Diwali Pahat atmosphere makes the music bloom inside you, the peace, joy, and celebration feel so soulful,” says Sayali Rao, a BCom student.

The following dawn, Swar Dipawali – Diwali Pahat, slated to begin at 6 am on Thursday, October 23, at the Yashwantrao Chavan Natyagruha will blend conversations, music, and poetry with Madhura Datar, Sankarshan Karhade, and Samir Choughule.

For Vijaya Patil, a senior citizen and long-time attendee, this is the city’s heartbeat. “For Punekars, Diwali truly begins only after Diwali Pahat. It’s not just a concert, it’s an emotion that ties our generations together,” he says.

The intention is to greet the year’s brightest days by listening to music that is unhurried, communal, and deeply local. “Every year our family walks to the hall in the dark,the first note of raga is our Diwali ritual,” says Deepali Ubale, a professor at Modern College.

Like every year, this year too, when the lights come up and morning takes full colour, Pune will step back onto its bustling streets carrying the same quiet aftertaste of raga, a steadier breath, and the feeling that Diwali has begun exactly as it should, with a song shared before the sun.

Ruta Patil is an intern with The Indian Express, Pune.