The 35th annual Pandit Motiram Pandit Maniram Sangeet Mahotsav has been on in Hyderabad since the 29th of November. The event (free for all!) is organised by the Dept. of Culture, Govt. Andhra Pradesh and the Sangeet Martand Padma Vibhushan Pandit Jasraj International Centre of Cultural and Aesthetic Studies at Nizam College. Needless to say, the performances were mesmerising. Yesterday and today I was audience to performances by Shashank (Karnatic Flute), Pandit Vijay Ghate (Tabla), Ustad Shahid Parvez (Sitar) and Pritam Bhattacharya (Hindustani Vocal), Ajay Pohankar (Hindustani Vocal).
I am appalled at how little attention these great musicians get from today’s mainstream media that cannot have enough of the filmy music. I am also glad, though, at the response this festival attracts. Yesterday, people sat till 12.00 midnight in open air during the chilling winter.
I was carrying my Panasonic Lumix DMC TZ1 and managed to snap some pics of the great artists who performed y’day night and today afternoon. Here are a few of them.
Chief guest of the occasion - ND Tiwari with Pundit Jasraj
Flute Maestro - Shashank
Volcalist Pritam Bhattacharya
The Awesome Tabla Maestro - Pandit Vijay Ghate
Sitar Supremo - Ustad Shahid Parvez
Superb Tabla Player - Kedar Pandit
Pandit Ajay Pohankar
Sangeet Martand Pandit Jasraj
Pandit Sanjeev Abhyankar
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The event ends tonight with a Sufi Kathak performance by Manjiri Chaturvedi, Tabla Solo by Pandit Vijay Ghate and a Hindustani Vocal recital by Pandit Sanjeev Abhyankar. I might miss the Khatak performance but certainly not the other two.
P.S: Governor ND Tiwari referred to Telugu as Andhra Pradesh ki Rashtra Bhasha. I managed to control my laughter.
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