Living up to the tag of being the cultural capital of the country, Pune this year saw a true amalgamation of cultural events and awards. There were some tragic losses though tooPandit Jasraj at SawaiSangeetmartand Pandit Jasraj ruled the audience's hearts in the first session of the fourth day at 56th Sawai Gandharva Sangeet Mahotsav. The first session that began at 8 am, witnessed performances by Vinayak Torvi on vocal, Pandit Ronu Mujumdar on flute and Pandit Jasraj- vocals. Beginning with raga Shuddha Sarang with bandish- Jao ji Jao Shyam Chhaliya in drut, Pandit Jasraj went on to present Shankaracharya's compositions- Om Namo Bhagawate Vasudevaya, Mai Mero and Om Namah Shivaya. For the 20,000 music lovers who were waiting to experience the musical mehfil of ragas by Pandit Jasraj, it was a dream come true.Pt bhimsen Joshi awarded Bharat Ratna - November 4There are moments when awards are hounoured. And one such moment came to reality when Pandit Bhimsen Joshi was chosen for the greatest civilian award- Bharat Ratna. Terming the decision as the honour of Indian Classical music, the maestro expressed satisfaction over the announcement and said, "I accept this award on behalf of all those who have contributed towards Indian Classical music. This is the first time that someone from Kirana gharana has been honoured with Bharat Ratna."Pulotsav - November 8Scheduled to begin on late P L Deshpande's birthday, the sixth Pulotsav kicked off at Yashwantrao Chavan Auditorium. Marathi writer V D Karandikar inaugurated the event and said, "Pulotsav is a great cultural initiative. I congratulate the organisers and wish them all the best in the years to come." After the inaugural ceremony, senior theatre personality Vijaya Mehta was awarded PuLa Smruti Sanman by the hands of Karandikar. Vasantotsav - February 11Day three of Vasantotsav began with Pakistani ghazal singer, Ghulam Ali's ghazal recital. Audiences were left awestruck as he catered to the frequent song requests and sang his popular numbers like Awaargi and Chupke chupke. His classical background allows him to use variations in his style, which results in a different performance every time.Begum Barve, magic returnsIt was the year 1979 when Satish Alekar, Chandrakant Kale, Ramesh Medhekar and Mohan Agashe came together to bring to life the enticing and seductive world of the Marathi musicals of the Balgandharva era starkly contrasting it to the plight of a transvestite. Now in the year 2008 for the third time the quartet came together to revive the play. With its original cast intact thus the same electrifying charge permeating the atmosphere, the play promises to recreate the same world all over again that flitted between reality and abstraction.Amol Palekar's theatre festival - Theatre Beyond WordsIt is only an artist's performance that can speak a thousand words without opening the mouth. The fact was proven again as pantomime Irshad Panjatan and artistic director Aparna sindhoor performed at Amol Palekar's theatre festival- Theatre Beyond Words at Yashwantrao Chavan auditorium.The big lossesDamu Kenkare's contribution to the Marathi film industry and experimental theatre is irreplaceable and eternal but what cannot be retrieved is the company of a legend whose expertise could have helped countless theatre personalities to take Marathi experimental theatre to greater heights. Vijay Tendulkar, Chandrakant Gokhale, Damu Kenkare- this year took away some of the most iconic names from the theatre and the Marathi film industry- Damu Kenkare being the most recent.Vijay Tendulkar’s loss was not only limited to a city, a state a language or a region in particular. This is a loss to the society, the boundaries of which cannot be defined. Tendulkar himself never followed any boundaries. From newspapers to plays and from ilms to television serials, he expressed his views openly and firmly. Born on January 6, 1928 in Kolhapur, Tendulkar always portrayed the reality, the facts that he belived in. A true artist, an honest writer, Tendulkar was and will always be remembered for his liberal views, influential writing skills and realistic thinking. This Ghashiram Kotwal was, is and will always be immortal.Rohini Bhate passed away and with her ended a chapter in the history of Kathak. Groomed by her guru late Lacchhu Maharaj and late Mohanrao Kalyanpurkar, Rohinitai evolved a unique and rich style of her own that will act as a beacon showing path to millions in the field of dance. Purushottam Karandak- August 25When Rambhau Datye started Purushottam Karandak, little did he think that it would one day be an irreplaceable part of college life. Today, 46 years after its inception, Purushottam Karandak is not just an event but also a tradition and a religion. Come August and students, college campuses, and Bharat Natya Mandir is caught up with Purushottam fever. "Our rules and regulations are very artist-centric. This is a competition and we want to treat this as a competition only. This is not commercial theatre where audience is the deciding factor. This is the stage by the students and for the students and anything that can bother the participants or the performers is prohibited here," said Hemant Vaidya, secretary, Maharashtraya Kalopasak. ZhimmadAmongst the banwagon of experimental plays that were performed in the city by college students, Zhimmad, a dramatic representation of Marathi poems on rain was quite promising. It was organised by Shabdamegh, a group of college students on June 3 at Sudarshan hall. While most of the plays that have rain as their central theme, are elaborate representations of love in different forms, Zhimmad is like an abstract painting, an outburst of emotions not from one but from many composers, where the viewers are free to impose their own moods on the poem presented.Dhaara at FTIIThis series of classical performances at FTII kicked off this year with the flute performance of Pandit Ronu Mujumdar. Mujumdar said, "We all must know the basics of music. Music I believe has the capacity to capture the nerves representing the deepest of human emotions. In today's world where competition is the name of the game, what we need is a perfect connection between body, soul and mind and only music has the power to do this."AntardhwaniScreening of Antardhwani, a film on Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma by director Jabbar Patel was screened at City pride, Kothrud. Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma along with the director of the film Jabbar Patel talked of the chemistry and philosophy that the duo shared in the process of making the film. Antardhwani, a biographical film on Panditji is based on a book written by Ina Puri that is a portrayal of his musical journey starting from his being an expert tabla player who was gifted with an instrument called santoor by his father. In Panditji's own voice along with quotes from maestros like Zakir Hussain, Hariprasad Chourasiya and Pandit Jasraj, it depicts the passion with which Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma gifted santoor its current status in Indian classical music. "I still remember my father telling me that one day my name would be synonymous with santoor," said Sharma.
