Seven-city concert to pay tribute to Pandit Bhimsen Joshi

A concert of abhangs and devotional songs dedicated to Lord Vithal 'Bolava Vithal' will be organised to pay tribute to legendary vocalist Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, organisers said today.

Featuring top artistes like Shankar Mahadevan, Suresh Wadkar, and Rahul Deshpande, the concert will be a seven-city tour to pay tributes to the Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, event organisers Pancham Nishad said today.

The late singer popularised abhangs (devotional songs in praise of Lord Vitthal) not only in India but across the world through his thematic concert 'Santawani'. This time, Pancham Nishad is taking this concert across the border of Maharashtra to Dharwad, Bangalore and Chennai, they said.

The concert is not only for devotees of Lord Vitthal, but also for music lovers in general. The tunes and classical finesse promises a resplendent evening. 'Bolava Vitthal' was initiated with the objective of giving a rare opportunity to music lovers and devotees to listen to such maestros singing praise of Lord Vitthal.

The tour begins on July 9 in Goa, followed by Mumbai, Pune, Nasik, Dharwad, Bangalore and Chennai. In Mumbai, the concert will be held on July 11, 2011 at Shanmukhnanda Auditorium.

Shankar Mahadevan said, "'Bolava Vitthal' gives me a chance to sing abhangs and get back to my classical roots. Its an honour to perform in memory of Pandit Bhimsenji."

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