Unmindful of the sluggish progress of the monsoon, the 11th edition of the acclaimed monsoon music festival Barkha Ritu will keep its date with the city on June 30.
Unmindful of the sluggish progress of the monsoon, the 11th edition of the acclaimed monsoon music festival Barkha Ritu will keep its date with the city on June 30. The artiste line-up this year includes santoor maestro Shiv Kumar Sharma and classical vocalist Pandit Ajay Pohankar. The latter will be joined by his son Abhijit on keyboard.
The Padma Vibhushan santoor maestro, lovingly called Shivji, is a living legend whose contribution to the rich tradition of Indian classical music is extremely remarkable. He has made an obscure, almost unknown instrument (santoor) indispensable in the world of classical music and created history in the world of music. Speaking about the Barkha Ritu festival, he said: “Music is a wonderful way of celebrating any season and the magic of the monsoons makes it that much more special. It is always a great pleasure to evoke the monsoon with the santoor.”
The Pohankar father-son duo has always made classical music more attractive and easy on the ear for all age groups, especially the youth. They said they were delighted at the opportunity of showcasing, yet again, tradition in a new format. “The music connoisseurs of Mumbai have always embraced change and progress wholeheartedly and we are looking forward to a positive response this time too,” said Pt Ajay Pohankar.
Barkha Ritu is the only national thematic music festival on monsoon ragas with a presence in six major cities of India — Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
Pioneers in the promotion of India’s rare performing arts over the last 16 years, the organisers of the festival, Banyan Tree, have helped provide platforms to artistes across the globe to highlight their art. Banyan Tree MD Mahesh Babu, who conceived the idea of the festival, told DNA, “Emotions evoked by the monsoon have traditionally been expressed through seasonal ragas. Of course, in India, like we need to now, we even pray through classical music for the rains to arrive. Given that rains sustain so much of what we have, it is not surprising that our traditional repertoire is rich with gems dedicated to the season. All we have done is bring it together on stage.”
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}