As the 35th Surashree Kesarbai Kerkar
Sangeet Samaroha kicked off this Friday,
Goa unofficially declared itself open
to the mad season that will see this
tiny state host events of myriad genres
that will keep it buzzing with action till
the early months of the next year. In
addition to the Sangeet Samaroha that
will have stalwarts of mammoth stature
perform in front of the Goan audiences,
Jaipur’s Salil Bhatt – the talented Satvik
Veena virtuoso will also be performing
live for the first time in Goa at another
event that will also be held at Kala
Academy and in Margao.
When the artiste roster of a festival
consists of stalwarts like Ustad Amjad
Ali Khan, Begum Parween Sultana, Pt
Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and more, the
PR team of the festival knows that
they can take a day off! The annual
Surashree Kesarbai Kerkar Sangeet
Samaroha, thanks
to the sheer
quality of the
music artistes
that it invites to
perform in Goa,
can be easily
counted amongst
the best Indian
classical musical
festivals in the
country. While
the first day of
the Samaroha
saw Begum
Parween Sultana
mesmerise the
audience as her
vocal notes filled
the auditorium,
followed by Pt
Vishwa Mohan
Bhatt who
enthralled all
those present
with his Mohan
Veena, today, the
morning session
will see Shounak
Abhisheki weave
his magic at the
classical vocal
concert followed
by a flute
concert in the
evening session
by disciple of
Pt Hariprasad
Chaurasia, Nash
Naubert. They
say, the best is
always saved for
the last and that
seems to be the
case here too as
the final day will
witness none
other than Ustad
Amjad Ali Khan
on sarod at 7 pm.
Sushant
Khedekar, Vice
Chairman, Kala
Academy, says,
“Surashree
Kesarbai
Kerkar Sangeet
Samaroha (SKKSS)
has always been the one to kick-start
the season around Diwali. In the initial
years, this festival used to comprise
dance performances along with
instrumental and vocal performances.
But after Kala Academy took over, we
decided to separate the two, in order
to give equal attention to both, and
have independent festivals for both
the performing arts. Hence, SKKSS will
give the fans a taste of world-class
Indian classical music now, whereas in
January-February, the dance festival
in Goa will see dance performances
of international class by some of the
world’s best dancers.”
Salil Bhatt, son of Grammy Award
winner and Padmashree Pandit Vishwa
Mohan Bhatt, is the creator of the
20-stringed Satvik Veena. Bhatt will
be performing for the first time in
Goa with back-to-back concerts on
November 9 in Panjim and
November 10 in Margao. The
show has been conceived
and organised by the Colva
based Cashewrina Events
company. When asked if the
timing of his performance in
Goa was intentionally planned to be
around his father, Pt Vishwa Mohan
Bhatt’s performance at SKKSS, Salil
dismisses it with a smile and clarifies
that it was purely coincidental. Salil
says, “We planned the dates for my
performance about six months ago.
By the grace of God, Panditji is busy
performing almost every day in
different parts of the world. For me
too, my frequent shows keep me on
the move all the time. We both are
busy with our individual careers
