Gaansaraswati Mahotsav

Pandit Jasraj, A Sivamani and Begum Parveen Sultana will perform at ‘Gaansaraswati Mahotsav’, the two-day classical music festival organized to honour classical vocalist Kishori Amonkar.

The festival, organized by Natyasampada Pratishthan, will be held at the Ganesh Kala Krida Kendra on November 17 and 18.

Addressing a news conference here on Monday, Raghunandan Panshikar, senior classical singer and founder trustee of Natyasampada Pratishthan, said, “The festival is a medium through which I would like to thank my mentor Amonkar. Amonkar will be felicitated and a ‘guru poojan’ ceremony will be performed by students and other senior artistes of the Jaipur gharana of classical music.”

Panshikar said the festival aims to popularize the style of singing adopted by veterans like Amonkar and Pandit Jasraj.

“We want people to enjoy their style and art. These veteran singers have worked a lot on their ‘aalaap’ or modulation of voice, and we want people to absorb it. Amonkar specializes in extensive ‘aalaap’,” he said, adding that the trust intended to make this event an annual feature.

The festival will include a percussion fusion music performance by Sivamani, Hindustani classical music concert by Amonkar herself, Hindustani classical violin and sitar jugalbandi by violinist Milind Raikar and sitarist Ravindra Chari, classical vocal performances by Panshikar, Sultana and Pandit Jasraj.

The Natyasampada Pratishthan is a trust founded in 2006 by late Prabhakar Panshikar, actor and producer of Marathi theatre. The trust is involved in research and promotion of Marathi theatre and Indian classical music.