News & Notes
Bhavans Annual Sangeet Utsav - March 2024

Sangeet Utsav is Bhavan's
flagship annual music festival, celebrating the best of Indian Classical music.
Every year, a mix of vocalists and instrumentalists in Carnatic and Hindustani
Classical genres perform.
The first weekend of the 2024 edition on Saturday, 9 March, featured a Carnatic vocal concert by vidwan Neyveli Santhanagopalan. Santhanagopalan's excellent renditions of the Begada varnam, Tulasi dala in raga Mayamalavagowla, Marivere in Anadabhairavi, Balagopala (Bhairavi), and Manardhikkundadhu (Sindhu Bhairavi) received great applause. His tillana in raga Purvi was an apt close to the evening. He was supported by Balu Raguraman on the violin, M. Balachandar on the mridangam, and Bangalore R. N. Prakash on the ghatam.
On Sunday, 10 March, vidushi A. Kanyakumari mesmerised the audience with a brilliant violin concert. She opened the concert with a prayer to Lord Ganapti, Gajanana yutham in raga Chakravaham, followed by a Mallari in Gambheeranata. The concert included the popular panchartna kriti Endaro mahanu bhavulu in Sree raga, Raghuvamsa sudha (Kadanakuthuhala), Bhavayami Raghuramam, Akhilandeshwari (Dwijawanti), and the much loved Krishna nee begane baaro and Bhagyada Lakshmi baaramma. She concluded with the mantra Govinda Hari Govinda and a Tiruppugazh in raga Shanmukhapriya. She was ably supported by Balu Raguraman on the violin, M Balachandar on the mridangam, and R. R. Pratap on the ghatam. Vidushi Kanyakumari also conducted a two-day workshop for intermediate and advanced violin students, which saw more than 20 attendees,
Weekend Two
The second weekend featured a Hindustani vocal concert by maestros Sajan Mishra and Swaransh Mishra, accompanied on tabla by Rajkumar Misra and on harmonium by Vishwaprakash on Saturday, 16 March. Featuring traditional compositions from the Benaras gharana, they began the concert with a composition in Malkaus, followed by a composition in raga Sahana.
Raga Durga praising Goddess Durga, composed by Late Pt. Rajan Mishra was rendered with vigour, and a Bhajan composed by Sri Das Narayan and set to music by Rajan Misra drew a lot of applause. 'Tappa', another traditional composition, was met with warmth from the audience. The duo concluded with a composition in raga Bhairavi a song from the Sur Sangam movie.
The concert also had two poetry recitations woven in between, written and tuned by Swaransh Mishra. The tradition of the Benaras gharana was brought out beautifully. The artists also conducted a Hindustani vocal workshop on Sunday, 17 March, with more than 40 enthusiastic students attending.
Weekend
Three
Punita
Gupta and her students performed a sitar recital on 23 March as a part of the
final weekend of Sangeet Utsav 2024. The concert featured six ragas, which included
Gunkali, Yaman, Kalawati, Hamsadhwani, Charukesi, and Bhoopali. M Balachandar
accompanied on the mridangam, and Jnanesh Kamath and Hevylen Seenan
on the tabla.
On Sunday, 24 March, Avijit Das presented a solo Kuchipudi recital. He presented 'Vystha Nrithyam', a solo presentation format in Kuchipudi. Avijit Das choreographed the whole presentation.