Pune: Gaanasaraswati Mahotsav to start on February 7

PUNE: The three-day Gaanasaraswati Mahotsav featuring a host of young vocalists in Indian classical music is set to start on February 7 at the Mahalaxmi Lawns near Rajaram bridge.
The festival is named after late Kishori Amonkar, who is known by the honorific title of Gaanasaraswati. Over the years, the festival has become the hotspot of up and coming talents, the organisers said on Friday.
During the music festival, vocalist Arshad Ali will be awarded the Gaanasaraswati Kishori Amonkar Yuva Puraskar.The award, instituted in the memory of Amonkar, recognises young exponents in the field of Indian classical performing arts. Ali will also perform on the morning of February 9, the closing day of the festival.
Other honoraries include Gwalior and Kirana gharana vocalist Venkatesh Kumar, who has been chosen as this year’s recipient of the Gaanatapaswini Mogubai Kurdikar Puraskar. Besides, tabla exponent Yogesh Samsi who will receive the Gaanasaraswati Kishori Amonkar Sangatkar Puraskar.
The organisers said they had tied up with two ticket aggregators to distribute donation passes for the show, which will also be available at Balgandharva Rangmandir on JM Road, and Tilak Smarak Mandir in Sadashiv Peth.
The festival will open on February 7 with a performance by Dhrupad Gayaki exponent Uday Bhawalkar, followed by a sitar recital by Kolkata-based Kushal Das. The second day will feature, among other performances, a taal recital by Suresh Talwalkar, along with his group Taal Yatra.
The festival will close on February 9 with a performance by the veteran vocalists Raghunandan Panshikar and Devaki Pandit, and will present a number of rare compositions by Amonkar.