Legacy rediscovered

Pandit Bhimsen Joshi's contribution to raagdari music might be measurable in terms of the number of songs and performances but not in terms of the number of hearts he has ruled.

The second session of Nakshatranche Dene kicked off with a performance on Pandit Bhimsen Joshi8217;s songs

Pandit Bhimsen Joshi8217;s contribution to raagdari music might be measurable in terms of the number of songs and performances but not in terms of the number of hearts he has ruled. For the common man, knowing all aspects of his gigantic personality is a Herculean task and not many are privileged enough to get the opportunity to observe him from up close.

After having ruled the audience8217;s hearts in the first session, Nakshatranche Dene, a programme that unveils the personalities of doyens in the field of music through their renditions, started its second session with Pandit Bhimsen Joshi8217;s compositions. Performed live in Pune on December 16, the programme will be aired on Zee Marathi channel in January. Written and directed by Shrirang Godbole, the three-hour programme unveils panditji8217;s personality through various music forms that he has performed during his illustrious tenure. 8220;The background of Nakshatranche Dene is poetic. In simple language, what we are doing is, taking to masses the artistes that till date belonged to the classes. And the best personality to begin with is undoubtedly Pandit Bhimsen Joshi. Masses who do not have an in-depth idea of Indian classical music, know in bits and pieces about Bhimsen Joshi and it is this gap that we want to bridge, using television as the medium,8221; says Godbole.

The programme, a journey of 21 songs, presents in front of the masses, various facets of Pandit Bhimsen Joshi through Bandish, Natyasangeet, film music, Abhang and so on, sung by well-known artistes like Arti Anklikar, Upendra Bhat, Shrinivas Joshi, Shrikant Deshpande, Anand Bhate, Shubhada Mulgund and Madhav Gudi. Numerous aspects of Panditji8217;s personality, like his openness to accept music from different gharanas, his respect for elders and so on, are rediscovered in front of the audience with the help of audio-visuals by personalities who came in close contact with Panditji.

Nikhil Sane, business head, Zee Marathi, agrees with the fact that three-hours is too short a time to discover a musical giant like Panditji. 8220;In this manner, however, Shrinivas Joshi helped us finalise the songs. Though we could not get into details, we have managed to touch all the aspects related to his personality,8221; says Sane. What makes this performance special is Panditji being awarded the Bharat Ratna. 8220;We had not designed the programme keeping in mind the prestigious national honour. We have been working on the programme for the past six months and the award came as a surprise to us. But we are happy that it has made it the most ideal time to launch a programme on Panditji,8221; smiles he.