Swept
away by the unparalleled melodious voice of Kesarbai Kerkar when he first heard
her, Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore named her the ‘Surashree’. To pay
tribute to this legendary Goan singer, Kala Academy has been organising the
Surashree Kesarbai Kerkar Sangeet Samaroha for 33 years in a row, with some of
the best names in classical Hindustani music in the country, be it vocals or
instrumental. “This festival is regarded as one of the ten best music festivals
in the country,” states Dr D L Amonkar, Programme and Development Officer, Kala
Academy.
In
a detour from the past, the festival which generally showcased a few eminent
performers will this year see a larger gathering of the same. “Every year, we invite local and national
artistes to perform, but we would generally limit it to one star artiste a
day. This time around almost all the
artistes from the vocalists, instrumentalists and even tabla and harmonium
accompanists are all well-renowned,” explains Dr Amonkar, while citing a few
eminent names like Pt Shivkumar Sharma (vocals), Niladri Kumar (sitar), Pt Ronu
Majumdar (baasuri). “The purpose is to showcase the best to our people. This
concert is free and open to all and an opportunity to see these stalwarts
performing in our home state should not be missed. We expect a large turnout this year and we
have even made arrangements for a screen in the foyer if the halls are full,”
he states, while reiterating that Kala Academy is dedicated to spreading
awareness and inculcating a liking for Hindustani classical music among people,
especially students, so that they in turn are encouraged to keep it as a model
to develop their skills.
Another
change this year is the staging of a curtain raiser at this four-day festival.
“The festival will formally be inaugurated on November 7, but on the evening of
November 6 we have organised a curtain raiser for the first time. This will consist of an audio-visual
presentation. Similarly, another one will be held on the morning of November
7. This is to create the enthusiasm and
mood for the festival,” he informs.
Another
novelty this year is the introduction of the ‘Jasrangi Jugalbandi’ – a vocal
concert by a male and female vocalist, who sing two different ragas at the same
time in two different scales. A fairly new concept in Hindustani classical
music, the honours for this unique recital will be done by Dr Ashwini Bhide
Deshpande and Pt Sanjeev Abhyankar for the festival.
Classical
Hindustani music lovers can look forward to a special ‘musical’ treat at the
festival this time around.
