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Gunidas Sangeet Sammelan to showcase India's treasury of musicians

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In a fortnight, Mumbai will host some of the country's most distinguished musicians during the 38th Gunidas Sangeet Sammelan (GSS), a prestigious festival held annually in memory of a yesteryear doyen of the Agra Gharana, the late Pandit Jagannath Buwa Purohit alias Gunidas.

A bevy of maestros are set to descend on the Nehru Centre at Worli on December 4, 5 and 6 to celebrate Hindustani classical music. These greats include Sangeet Martand Pt Jasraj, violin maestro Dr N Rajam, vocalist Pt Prabhakar Karekar, santoor maestro Pandit Satish Vyas and vocalist Begum Parveen Sultana. Upcoming artistes like vocalists Ritesh and Rajnish Mishra, flautist Rupak Kulkarni, sitarist Lakshya Mohan Gupta, sarod exponent Aayush Mohan Gupta and vocalist Manjusha Kulkarni-Patil will also be performing.

Pt C R Vyas started GSS in 1977 under the aegis of the Maharashtra Lalit Kala Nidhi (MLKN), a charitable trust founded by him. Pt. Jagannath Buwa, was not only a great performer, but also an acclaimed guru and composer of several ragas and bandishes under the pseudonym Gunidas, hence the name of the festival.

On December 4 (Thursday), the festival will commence with a vocal recital by Ritesh and Rajnish Mishra, talented brothers and sons of Pt Rajan Mishra of Banaras Gharana, a renowned singer of the khayal style. This will be followed by a recital by senior flautist Rupak Kulkarni, a child prodigy who got music as a legacy from his father late Pt. Malhar Rao Kulkarni. Rupak has also benefited from the tutelage of flute legend and Padma Vibhushan Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia, to become an outstanding exponent of the Maihar Gharana. The evening will conclude with the divine voice of Pt Jasraj, whose style evokes the splendour of the Mewati gharana in all its hues.

On December 5, the evening will begin with a sitar-sarod jugalbandi by the talented duo Lakshay Mohan Gupta (sitar) and Aayush Mohan Gupta (sarod). They have trained for more than a decade under Pt Balwant Rai Verma, the seniormost disciple of Bharat Ratna Pandit Ravi Shankar and thereafter trained by eminent musicians of Maihar Gharana, Pt Umashankar Mishra, Sharan Rani and Pt Tejendra Majumdar. They learned the intricacies of 'Dhrupad ang' (style) from Padmashri Gundecha Brothers.

This will be followed by a performance by Pt Prabhakar Karekar, who was initiated in classical music by late Pt Suresh Haldankar. The day will end with the delicate yet fiery compositions of the internationally acclaimed Padma Bhushan Dr N Rajam, a south Indian violinist who performs in Hindustani style. Rajam started playing violin at age 3, and had blossomed into a professional musician by the time she was 9.

On December 6, the sammelan will begin with a performance by vocalist Manjusha Kukarni Patil, followed by renowned santoor maestro Pt Satish Vyas who has been blessed with a formidable musical background and training under his late father Pt C R Vyas and his guru santoor legend Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma.

The 38th Gunidas Sangeet Sammelan will conclude with a melodious emotive rendering by Begum Parween Sultana known for her voice which effortlessly travels across five octaves. This Padma Bhushan is also a Sangeet Natak Akademi Awardee.

"I am happy that my late father, Pt CR Vyas, who was the founder of Maharashtra Lalit Kala Nidhi, had a vision to propagate classical music in a way that it will also give a platform to young artistes. In this year's sammelan, we are presenting five young extremely talented artistes," said Pt Satish Vyas.

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