HYDERABAD: How do you celebrate winter evenings? To warm the hearts and pep up the sagging spirits? To bring in some warmth on chilly evenings, Hyderabadis normally have chai, samosa and Osmania biscuits, and biryani and kebabs as the evening turns into night. But for those who are looking for food for the soul, there is soulful music in the offing. This weekend (Dec 16 & 17), KMR Foundation is bringing their annual “Jashn-e-Deccan” festival to celebrate the rich traditions of various Indian music and dance forms. The events are free and open to music and dance enthusiasts. The venue is Amphi Theatre, Sreenidhi International School (transport and high tea is available for audience).
Young Omkar Dadarkar will open the festival with his vocal music on Day 1, one can expect a fresh and earnest approach to classical music from this Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar awardee, who is also an ITC Sangeet Research Academy scholar. This will be followed by Pt. Rajendra Prasanna’s flute recital. He hails from the renowned “Benaras Gharana” and is a master of flute & shehnai. The “gayaki ang” in his renditions is supposed to mesmerise the listeners.
The legendary Begum Parveen Sultana needs no introduction. The acclaimed musician of the Patiala Gharana, her khayals, bhajans and thumris are eagerly looked forward to. It is no surprise that she frequently complies with the “ farmaish” of the audience: guess which one? “Bhavanee….dayanee” in Raag Bhairavi , which usually makes audience sway in captivated devotion . Hope she will keep her fans happy this time too!
On the second day (17th December- Sunday), Ruchira Panda will present a vocal concert. Proud inheritor of the 1000 years old Kotali Gharana (a style of Indian classical music native to East India, especially Bengal), characterized by an open voice, high melodic content, fast taans and improvisations, one can expect a rare magic in her music.
This will be followed by a Dhrupad recital by Pandit Prem Kumar Mallick who belongs to the illustrious musical family of “Darbhanga Gharana” and represents the 12th generation of this musical lineage: one of the oldest traditions of musicians since 18th century, the Dhrupad tradition of Darbhanga is his family’s legacy. His training in Dhrupad- Dhamar started at an early age under the guidance of his father late Pt. Bidur Mallick, the Dhrupad maestro. It is one of those rare opportunities to listen to the divine Dhrupad music.The festival will conclude with a sitar recital by the scion of Etawah Gharana, Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan, who descends from six generations of renowned sitarists. Listening to his sitar from where notes flow in a mellifluous stream is considered a great occasion.