Sawai Gandharva Music Festival - Day 4 Evening Session

Day 4 : 12th December Evening Session 4 PM

Meena Faterpekar Meena Fatarpekar is the grand-daughter of the doyens of Kirana Gharana, Saraswatibai Rane and Hirabai Badodekar and her music has been cultured under this family tradition. Well versed with classical,bhavgeet,natyasangeet,bhajans and thumari, Meena is blessed with melodious and versatile voice. She has to her credit many prestigious concerts in India and abroad. Many outstanding prizes such as Bharat Gayan Samaj's Master Krishnarao Phulambrikar Gold Medal, Surmani By Sur Singar, Yuva Puraskar by Tansen Sangeet Sammelan, Kolkata and scholarships at state and national level have crowned her glory.

Ut. Shakir Khan Shakir Khan is a promising and talented young artist with an exquisite sense of sur and laya reflected through his performance. Eldest son and disciple of the world famous sitar maestro Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan, Shakir belongs to the 8th generation of the famous Etawah Gharana. He has showcased his talent in prestigious Indian music concerts including the Dover Lane Music Conference, Saptak Music Festival, Tansen Music Festival and across US, Canada, Europe and also in Woodstock Festival in Poland. Shakir is a part of an Europian Jazz band, Taalism and plays in Indian Fusion bands like Mukti and Soundscape.

Padma Talwalkar Padma Talwalkar's music represents a unique blend of various Gharanas, embellished with her own personal touch. She inherited her talent from kirtankar grandfather, Shri Kanebuwa. She mastered the intricacies of Gwalior and Kirana Gharana from Pandit Gnagagharbuwa Pimpalkhare, was under tutelage of Late. Smt. Mogubai Kurdikar of Jaipur Gharana and perfected the art of concert singing from Smt. Kishori Amonkar. Padma continued her quest for music under the guidance of Pt. Gajananrao Joshi, a master of Jaipur, Gwalior and Agra Gharanas. Her impressive list of awards includes Late. Smt. Vatsalabai Bhimsen Joshi Puraskar, Pandit Jasraj Puraskar and the Rajhans Pratishthan Puraskar.

Shri. Upendra Bhat Upendra Bhat, an acclaimed classical vocalist of Kirana Gharana, reminds the audience of his legendary Guru - Pandit Bhimsen Joshi. With his well seasoned, sonorous voice, systematic rendition of ragas, powerful tans and expressive singing, Upendra keeps the audience captivated. He excels in diverse musical genres like gazals, thumris, bhajans and light music. Upendra has performed at several prestigious platforms like Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan, Sawai Gandharva Music Festival, in India, UK,USA,Dubai and Bahrain. He is the recipient of Pandit Bhimsen Joshi Award, Karnatak State Government Award, Vishwashanti Sanget Jeevan Gauraw Puraskar and many more.

Deepak Maharaj & Mamta Maharaj Deepak Maharaj was born on 25th February 1970 in Delhi into the illustrious family of Kalka-Bindadin Gharana. He received his training from a very tender age from his father, the renowned kathak maestro Pandit Birju Maharaj. He began performing on stage from the young age of nine and also accompanied his father on many concert tours in India. He has performed leading roles in dance drama choreographed by Birju Maharaj ji, most notably amongst them Krishnayan, Kumar Sambhav, Katha Raghunath Ki, Rupmati - Bajbahadur, Shan-e-Awadh, etc . These concerts and his solo performance were received with critical acclaim in India, UK, USA, Canada, Italy, Dubai, Germany, France, Australia, Russia, etc Recently he has given a splendid performance as Romeo in the kathak version of Romeo and Juliet , which was staged in various cities in India.

Mamta Maharaj Maharaj" of Lucknow Gharana, the family which has been supporting the classical form of Kathak for many decades. She represents the eighth generation of kathak in the family after the legends like late Shri Lacchu Maharaj, late Shri Shambhu Maharaj, Shri Acchan Maharaj and her father and guru the living-legend himself Padma Vibhusan Pandit Birju Maharaj. She is the first female kathak professional performer from the family. Trained under Pandit Birju Maharaj, she has not only inscribed a niche for herself, but has the enthusiasm to share and spread the same training and devotion upon this dance form to others.

Prabha Atre A brilliant thinker, performer, composer and teacher of music, Dr. Prabha Atre of Kirana Gharana, is in league of her own. She was trained in the traditional `guru-shishya paramparaa' system by the late Sureshbabu Mane and his famous sister, Padmabhushan Hirabai Badodekar, both stalwarts of the Kirana gharana. Her sincerity to her art and sensitivity to the times reflect in her thinking and singing. Whether khyaal, taraanaa, thumri, daadraa, ghazal or bhajan, she has a distinct style and ingenuity in design and presentation. Her timeless talent is honoured by countless prestigious awards including Padmabhushan, Sangeet Natak Academy Award and Maharashtra State Govt. Award.