The 56th Sawai Gandharva Mahotsav is going to start from 11th December. I am fortunate to attend it in the last year of my undergraduate studies. Last three years of this festival were missed due to university exams. But this year it was possible for me to be one of the listeners at the Sawai Gandharva as the exams are already over. I did buy tickets on the very first day within 1st hour at Navdikar Musicals on Tilak Road. I was thinking of a big queue in front of centre and was not much sure of being fortunate enough to have tickets. But it did not happen to me... there was no queue and plenty of tickets were available in the morning. Later I heard the tickets were over by the evening and some of my friends could not manage to have them. Nikhil was with me and he helped me a lot during process... The newspapers on next day published the photos of big queues at some of the centers like Shirish traders, Alurkar music house, etc. Me with my three friends going to experience the magic at Mahotsav from 11th-14th Dec. Thanks to organizers who made the tickets available in concession for students.
Rambhau Kundgolkar (1886-1952) better known as Sawai Gandharva was one of the greatest Hindustani vocalist of all the times... A private concert was organized on the sixteenth day after his death where his noted disciples Smt Gangubai Hangal, Pandit Feroz Dastur and Pandit Bhimsen Joshi performed. To commemorate his 1st death anniversary a music festival was arranged and it had a great success... Since then it is the 56th year of the festival. Beside of being the best music festival in India, it is one of the greatest examples of 'Gurudakshina' a student can offer to his master!
I have not learnt classical or not even a singer... But I love classical music. I am not aware of Raag, Taal very much, still I love to listen to it. 'Shatriya Sangeet' as name suggests is the soul of any type of music. One can experience every aspect of life in it. It may look like boring at the first impression but don't give up just listen... and you will learn how worth it is! Show me anyone who have heard Kumar Gandharva or Kishori Amonkar and didn't like it. Its simply impossible... One of the biggest sorrows of my life is that I could not attend any of the programs of Pt. Kumar Gandharva, to console myself I have great collection of this maestro. Whenever I think of classical music, I feel lucky to have heard shastriya sangeet otherwise I would have missed the real form of music...
