The 38th edition of All India Bhaskar Rao Nritya & Sangeet Sammelan organized annually by Pracheen Kala Kendra is all set to open on March 14, 2008 at Dr. M.S. Randhawa Auditorium, Punjab Kala Bhawan complex adjoining Rose Garden, Sector 16, Chandigarh. The three-day festival (March 14 to 16) which would feature some leading lights from the field of classical music and dance is to be inaugurated by Haryana Governor Dr. A.R. Kidwai while Chandigarh Administration Home Secretary Shri Krishna Mohan, IAS would be the Guest of Honour on the opening evening.
The Sammelan which is one of the oldest music and dance festivals of its kind in this part of the country, is the Kendra's homage to Bhaskarbua Bakhle offered uninterruptedly every year since 1969 to this eminent exponent of Indian classical music who is better known as Bhaskar Rao to those interested in the performing arts. This year also, as in the past, the Kendra is bringing some of the internationally acclaimed artists to perform during the festival.
Leading the pack is Kuchipudi danseuse Guru Swapnasundari who is scheduled to perform on the opening evening which commences with a vocal recital of musicologist Dr. Hari Charan Verma, former Deputy Director General, All India Radio. Both of them are only too well known to those who care for the detail and its articulate presentation to the audiences. For the second evening - March 15 - Kathak dance by Guru Rajendra Gangani and his troupe of Jaipur Gharana are to offer some of their best choreographic compositions. As a true representative of his Gharana, Rajendra Gangani has come to stay as one of the prominent performer of this form of dance. However, before he takes the stage, slick and suave young vocalist Sugandha Mishra from Jalandhar opens the evening's programme with some of her choicest Ragas and compositions to set the tone for the proceedings.
The concluding evening (March 16) brings to the city audiences two most distinguished stalwarts of the classical music and dance. Guru Girija Devi of Banaras Gharana is due to take the discreet listeners along her stream of select Ragas, Thumri, Dadra and other unparallel presentations associated with her as the most important vocalist of our times.
The performance of danseuse Guru Uma Sharma, the Kathak virtuoso, who is equally apt at presenting the compositions that represent two distinctly different Jaipur and Lucknow Gharanas, is set to enchant the audience as she comes to the city after a long gap of time. With her presentation, the three-day festival would conclude leaving its lasting memories on the minds of the people who have all these years been like a steady stream waiting anxiously to listen and witness some of the best performers presented by Pracheen Kala Kendra all these years.
The Kendra has also taken care to chose some outstanding accompanists to assist the artistes on different evenings. They include Tabla wizard Sudhir Pandey and key Harmonium player of the country Jayram Potdar to be part of Dr. Hari Charan Verma's team, Tarsem Kumar on Tabla and Jagdish Kumar on Harmonium to accompany Ms. Sugandha Mishra, while Guru Girija Devi would be accompanied on Tabla by Akram Khan, on Sarangi Kamal Sabri and Jayram Potdar on Harmonium.
To Kathak Guru Uma Sharma, Jwala Prasad would provide vocal support and Mubarak Ali to be on Tabla and Khalid Mustafa on Sitar. Since its start in 1969, almost all the luminaries from the field of classical dance and music have had the occasion to be part of the annual Bhaskar Rao Nritya and Sangeet Sammelan.
This is evident from the participation of Pt. Vinayak Rao Pattwardhan, Pt. Vinayak Rao Vyas, Ustad Bade Mubarak Ali Khan, Ustad Vilayat Khan, Pt. Chaturlal, Pt. Markandeya Mohapatra, Pt. Husan Lal & Pt. Bhagat Ram, Sardar Sohan Singh, Pandit Dilip Chandra Vedi, Pandit A. Kanan, Smt. Malavika Kanan, Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna, Pandit Jasraj, Guru Girija Devi, Begum Parveen Sultana, Guru Shobha Gurtu, Dr. Prabha Atre, Pandit Rajan-Sajan Mishra, Pt. Ajoy Chakraborty, Ustad Rashid Khan, Dr. Sharayu Kalekar, Smt. Sulochana Brahaspati, Pandit Kishan Maharaj, Pandit Ram Narayan, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Pandit Debu Chaudhary, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Pandit Tarun Bhattacharya, Ustad Shahid Parvez, Pt. Kumar Bose, Guru Pankaj Charan Das, Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, Guru Sanjukta Panigrahi, Guru Sonal Mansingh, Guru Kumkum Mohanty, Sri Ratikant Mohapatra, Pandit Durga Lal, Guru Shambhu Maharaj, Guru Sunder Prasad, Guru Gopi Krishan, Guru Kundan Lal Gangani, Guru Sitara Devi, Guru Uma Sharma, Guru Shovana Narayan, Guru Shobha Koser, Guru Raja-Radha Reddy, Guru Swapanasundri, Guru Daksha Seth, Guru Saroja Vaidyanathan, Mrs. Mamata Shankar, Guru Rani Karna and Guru Kiran Segal to name just a few from the long list of truly top grade vocalists, instrumentalists and dancers.
PROGRAMME AT A GLANCE
March 14, 2008 (i) Dr. Hari Charan Verma (Vocal Recital) (ii) Padma Bhushan Guru Swapnasundari (Kuchipudi Dance) March 15, 2008 (i) Ms. Sugandha Mishra (Vocal Recital) (ii) Guru Rajendra Gangani (Kathak Dance) March 16, 2008 (i) Padma Bhushan Guru Girija Devi (Vocal Recital) (ii) Padma Bhushan Guru Uma Sharma (Kathak Dance)
