65th Sawai Gandharva Music Festival Pune , 2017 : Highlights and Detailed report

This year's Sawai was one of the best in last 5-6 years .. almost all concerts were truly classic .. Sunday day long marathon Finale was an icing on the cake !
26 concerts , 38 hours , 5 days in a Chandeliers decorated grand shamiana ! Blissful experience of Classical art and Music reminding of the glorious days of "Musical jalsas" ! Thoroughly Enjoyed !
Here are the Highlights :
The young brigade proved that they are ready for the big stage. In fact , some of the veterans were a bit disappointing to put it bluntly.
My favorite concerts and artists were : ( Listed day wise, not in order of liking ! )

Day 1 : Debashish Bhattacharya with his Chaturangi guitar ( a modified slide guitar with sounds of Sitar , Sarod , guitar and Sarangi (also violins)
Madhuvanti in Dhrupad Style
As a tribute to Pt Bhimsen concluded with  बाजे रे मुरलिया बाजे

Day 2 : Kala Ramnath
Shyam Kalyan in Mewati Style
Kajri in Banaras Style and jugalbandi with Yogesh Shamsi

Day 2 : Kaushiki Chakraborty ,the darling of crowd and Queen of Patiala gharana, with her shear brilliance and all the x, y , z factors as a "performing artist", ruled over the over houseful.
Marubihag
- रतिया म्हारी बैरन भई
- रतिया किन्ही ओर बतिया बनाए
Bageshree Tarana and bandish - याद करो ध्यान धरो माता सरस्वती
Thumri - दिल की चोटों ने कभी , याद पिया की आए  

Day 3 : Samrat Pandit : true Patiala gayaki , ease of performance and confidence .. a star to look forward to in future !
Gorakh Kalyan
- तू रब साहेब ,मोद बसंत
- बिनती नहीं मने सैय्याँ
Thumri- कंकर मार जगा गयो रे यमुना का छोरा 

Day 3 : Kushal Das - Classic Maihar gharana tradition  , Dhrupad style composed and soft Sitar that touches heart.
Marwa , Yaman gat , Mishra Shivaranjani dhun 

Day 4 : Abhay Sopori - The brightest of the young brigade of classical musicians of Sawai 2017. Truly a hope for future. Confident and knowledgeable poised performance that won over connoisseurs.
Raag Bhim , Dhrupad style Alaap Jod jhala with suberb accompaniment by Ut Akram Khan on Tabla and Rishi Shankar Upadhyay on Pakhwaj
Bandish - हे नाद बेधन तुम्ही को , गुनी और गंधर्व सब गाऐ
Jugalbandi and concluding with a Kashmiri Dhun based on a Tarana of his grand father.

Day 4 : Prachee Shah-Paandya - Kathak performance that was unique and had all the x,y,z factors to keep audience engrossed. Graceful , poised and brilliant at same time. A bright star for the Jaipur Kathak Gharana. Excellent , graceful presentation that started with Ganesh Vandana and moved to various Jaipur gharana "नजाकत"  and Thumri in conclusion "शाम नहीं आये "

Day 4 : Aarti Anklikar - Took her time to warm up the throat with Rageshree , but later "Bolaavaa Vitthal" made many eyes teary ! Showed all the signs of shouldering the responsibility of  Jaipur gayaki in future !
Rageshree
- सुमिरन करत राम नाम , बिसरत बिधा , जित लियो क्रोध काम 
- Thillana of Lalgudi Jayraman 
Tappa in Kafi in Pashto taal (7 matra) composed by Dinkar Kaikini
- माधो मुकुंद मुरारी , कुञ्ज बिहारी , अखिल जगत के तुम इतरार
Thumri - आज कैसी ब्रिज में धूम मचाई
Bhajan - बोलावा विठ्ठल was poignant , passionate and pearcing that made many eyes teary !

Day 5 : Mahesh Kale - Mesmerized the overfull crowd. Presented pure classical to the National Award winning film song , self made bandishes. Won over everyone , young-old , men-women-girls-veteran connoisseurs.. even his haters were silenced. He has proved himself to be a true "Classical-Rock Star"
Shuddha Sarang
- तपन लागी रे
Soulful , passionate Self composed bandish on his mother - एरी मोरी माई कित गई
Self composed bandish on this guru Abhishekibuwa - आनंद मना हो मंगल गाओ
Tarana
Bhajan - अवघे गरजे पंढरपुर
National Award winning song- अरुणी करूणी , सूर निरागस हो

Day 5 : Padma Shankar - Carnatic Violins , the grace , poise and passion was felt by connoisseurs !
Hansdhwani - वातापि गणपति भजेऽहं
Thyagaraja rachan in Charukeshi about request to Rama
Abhang - माझे माहेर पंढरी
Thillana in Madhuvanti
Concluded with Bhajan - सौभाग्यदा लक्ष्मी बाराम्मा

Day 5 : Anand Bhate - a true torch bearer for the legacy of Pt Bhimsen Joshi and Pune .. a hope for Pune and Kirana Gharana !
Yaman Kalyan
- अवगुनन कीजिये गुणीजन
- सखी ये री आली पिया बिन
Bhajan - सौभाग्यदा लक्ष्मी बाराम्मा 

Day 5 : Ut Shujaat Khan - As usual he was brilliant , I must have attended over 10 of his concerts in last 2 years. He never brings the level of his performance below a threshold , that is very high for many of the even "veterans" to match ! His concert was one of the best of the festival and he truly is a "Classical Artist" .. Jhinjhoti and gazals and Shers. 
जो मिल गया उसे याद रख , जो नहीं मिला उसे भूल जा ..
तेरे नैनों से लागे कटार ...
मै तो पिया से नैना लगा के आई रे ..
कहाँ आके रुकने थे रास्ते ..


Here are the links : Memories of Sawai 2017 , The Sawai Fan Award Polls on the Sawai Fan Event page of Facebook

Here is the link to Fan Page of Sawai Gandharva-Bhimsen Mahotsav with all the posts and memories

Here is the complete list of detailed performances by each artist in a table form.

Sawai Gandharva who ? : The Story of Sawai Gandharva

While I await and "prepare" myself for the almost weeklong "Sawai sojorn" ( like every year ! ) starting December 13th Wednesday morning at 10am for five days till Sunday December 17th 10pm , I ponder on the evolution of the name  "Sawai Gandharva" and the history of "Sawai". 

( Sawai is a title of honor used in India, the word having its root in Sanskrit language. Sawai literally means a quarter over one (1+1/4) in strength and / or intelligence. In other words it means - one and a quarter of an average man in worth. 
 Gandharva is a name used for distinct heavenly beings in Hinduism and Buddhism; it is also a term for skilled singers in Indian classical music. )
 
Who was Sawai Gandharva ? 
There are a good many connoisseurs of Hindustani music of the younger generation who are likely to ask this question. The more knowledgeable among them pretend to know of him, rather ironically, simply as the guru of today’s musical stalwarts like Gangubai Hangal, or Bhimsen Joshi. Sawai Gandharva ,whose real name was Ramachandra Kundgolkar Saunshi,(January 19, 1886 – September 12, 1952), was a popular Hindustani Classical vocalist and Marathi stage actor of the Kirana Gharana. Also known as Rambhau ,he was the first and foremost disciple of Ut Abdul Karim Khan and was the guru of Bharat Ratna Pt. Bhimsen Joshi. Sawai Gandharva is most well known for popularizing the styling of the Kirana Gharana through his accomplished disciples, including Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, Dr. Gangubai Hangal, Firoz Dastur, and Pt. Basavaraj Rajguru.
Sawai Gandharva was rightly acclaimed the ‘king of mehfil’. His preeminence as an actor-singer and as a classical maestro on the mehfil platform, was hailed as a double distinction. 

How Rambhau Kundgolkar came to be known as ‘Sawai Gandharva’ ?
Rambhau made his mark on the Marathi stage as an actor-singer when the great thespian, Bal Gandharva, ruled supreme. His raga-based Marathi pads(पद) had become the rage of the ‘20s, when Marathi musical drama was at the height of its popularity. His preeminence as an actor-singer and as a classical maestro on the mehfil platform, was hailed as a double distinction.
He charmed his audience by singing his Ustad's ( Khan Saheb Abdul Karim Khan) well known Thumries and Bhajans with that typically emotional fervor. He had thus popularized the “Highbrow” music through his stage -songs and cajoled his “lesser” audience into cultivating better tastes with regard to music.  It was on account of this double achievement that this actor-musician became known as Sawai Gandharva which honorific title was conferred on him by the late Dadasaheb Khaparde, the famed political leader of Berar.
And that was how Rambhau Kundgolkar came to be known as ‘Sawai Gandharva’ !

How did the Sawai Gandharva Sangit Mahotsav start ?

Pandit Bhimsen Joshi started the annual Sawai Gandharva Music Festival in Pune, in memory of his guru Sawai Gandharva, in 1953. The festival was held on a modest scale for first two decades. In the 1970s and 1980s, its popularity of "Sawai" sky-rocketed and today it is one of the most popular and largest Indian Classical Music festivals of world.
The festival is hosted by the Arya Sangeet Prasarak Mandal (ASPM) ,an off-shoot of the Arya Sangeet Vidyalaya founded by Abdul Karim Khan ,the doyen of Kirana gharana and guru of Sawai Gandharva in 1918. The name of the festival was eventually changed by ASPM after the death of Pt Bhimsen Joshi in 2011 to Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav.

This year marks the 65th year of "Sawai" and 6th year of "Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav".


If this information interests you, here are two articles for a good read about Sawai Gandharva :

Guru Pt Sawai Gandharva

A Great Exponent of Khayal - Sawai Gandharva 

Hope to see you all at Sawai in Pune !