Date:14/02/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/02/14/stories/2006021404330200.htm

New Delhi

Music fest dedicated to tabla maestro

Bindu Shajan Perappadan

New delhi: Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra will open its 58th three-day Shriram Shankarlal Music Festival on February 17. The festival is a trailblazer in the Capital for having continued to encourage and promote upcoming talent along with established names in the business.

This year the festival will be dedicated to the memory of the late tabla maestro of the Delhi gharana, Ustad Shafaat Ahmed.

"The festival follows a thematic representation in the choice of participants. Special care has been taken to present the orthodox yet progressive and eclectic musicians of the contemporary scene," says festival director Shobha Deepak Singh talking about the festival and what the audience will get to enjoy this year round.

The festival will open with a vocal recital by Mukul Shivputra Bhanumatey, who will present a totally unorthodox approach to music. His presentation will be followed by music on Mohan Veena by Grammy Award winner Vishwa Mohan Bhatt.

"What the audience would get at the festival is Biswajeet Roy Chowdhury who in his presentation will assimilate two major school of sarod playing with the unique and complex repertoire of the Jaipur gharana. Also to watch out for is Veena Sahasrabuddhe who sings so many different compositions and has combined the Agra element of the late Pandit Ratan Jhankar in her music. The young dhrupad duo of Gundecha Brothers share Sunday morning with Rahul Sharma. They have already carved a niche for themselves in their rather unique approach of singing lyrics of great Hindi poets to the abstract dance form of Chandralekha, thus enriching the horizons of Dhrupad singing," adds Ms. Singh.