CHENNAI: The 14th edition of Bharat Sangeet Utsav, a pan India music festival kicked off on Friday, amid much grandeur.
The grand extravaganza, organised by Carnatica and Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha will go on till November 9. This year, it features a stunning line up of star performers covering a wide variety of genres and themes. The event is in support of Sukrtham Foundation, aiding the education of underprivileged girl children.
“This music festival is not just about classical music. There is folk, Carnatic, devotional, film, contemporary and lot of other forms. We are celebrating the art in all dimensions, thereby breaking language, culture, regional and age barriers. We also have some exciting fusion music,” said KN Shashikaran, founder of Carnatica.
Renowned Carnatic singer, Sudha Raghunathan kick-started the festival with a concert on women empowerment titled ‘Sthree Shakthi’, along with popular Hindustani flautist Pandit Ronu Majumdar accompanied by 200 girl children from Dr Sudha Raja’s Sargam Choir.
On the occasion, Carnatic vocalist and composer, Kuldeep M Pai was presented with Bharat Sanskriti Award, for spreading Indian culture and creating young superstars through social media. Carnatic music singer, Dr S Sowmya was awarded the Bharat Sangeet Excellence Award.
On receiving their awards, both the musicians thanked the almighty for blessing them with the gift and knowledge of music. Kuldeep, whose videos on YouTube with his students have become popular among rasikas said, “YouTube is a great platform to showcase arts. It gives us a creative space with no restrictions.
This year the organisers have planned Carnatic anthakshari, Villupattu and other interesting performances.