H1N1 Takes A Toll On 56-Year-Old Music Tradition
times news network
Pune: The H1N1 scare has taken its toll on the prestigious and much-awaited Sawai Gandharva music festival. The Arya Sangeet Prasarak Mandal (ASPM) announced on Saturday that the 57th edition of the festival will be postponed.
The new dates will be announced later.
The festival is usually held early in December and this is the first time in the history of the Sawai Gandharva festival that it has been postponed. Last year it was held amidst unprecedented security after the 26/11 terror attacks on Mumbai.
A statement issued here on Saturday by Shriniwas Joshi, executive president of ASPM, and executive secretary Shrikant Deshpande said that the decision was taken following consultations with district collector Chandrakant Dalvi and municipal commissioner Mahesh Zagade.
"For the last few months the H1N1 pandemic has put many restrictions on public life and functions in Pune. The pandemic reached serious proportions at a time when preparations and planning for the Sawai Gandharva fest usually begins. In view of the possible obstacles that the organisers would face while holding the festival, the ASPM decided to postpone it," the statement said.
In view of the extraordinary circumstances as far as H1N1 spread was concerned, there was no other alternative but to postpone the festival, the statement added.
Over 10,000 music lovers from all over the country and abroad attend the annual festival that is conducted in five sessions spread over four days. The only changes the festival has seen over the last 56 years, has been changes in venue and timings, following a Supreme Court directive banning the use of loudspeakers after 10 pm.
The Sawai Gandharva Sangeet Mahotsav is the one of the most prominent and sought-after Indian classical music festivals in India that was started by Bharat Ratna Kirana gharana maestro Bhimsen Joshi in 1952 as a tribute to his guru Sawai Gandharva alias Rambhau Kundgolkar.
Saw this sad news today. Hope things improve quickly to host the festival as soon as possible.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city ... 158117.cms
The festival celebrated its golden jubilee in December 2002 and is a unique phenomenon in the annals of Hindustani classical music. Over the last 56 years, generations of Pune's connoisseurs have grown up savouring the unforgettable performances at the festival by great Hindustani masters.
It created a platform and a home for musicians to come and perform and not only did it become an annual event for music connoisseurs world-wide, but it re-introduced Hindustani and Carnatic Music as modern music and kept it in rhythm' with Indian pop culture.
Among the artists who have performed at the festival are Hirabai Badodekar, Vasantrao Deshpande, Begum Akhtar, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Zakir Hussain, Saraswati Rane, Ustad Ahmedjan Thirakwa, Kumar Gandharva, Kishori Amonkar, Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia, Amjad Ali Khan, Pt Ravishankar, Pt Mallikarjun Mansoor, Pt Shivkumar Sharma, Pt Jitendra Abhisheki and of course, Bharat Ratna Pt Bhimsen Joshi.
Sawai Gandharva Festival Postponed
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sureshramaswamy
- Posts: 24
- Joined: 28 Mar 2008, 14:44
Thank God!!!
http://www.sakaaltimes.com/2009/11/0318 ... in-Ja.html
PUNE: The Sawai Gandharva music festival, which is popular even among music aficionados abroad, will now be held from January 7 to 10 next year.
The annual music festival, which is held in December, was earlier postponed by Arya Sangeet Prasarak Mandal, the organising body, in view of the spread of H1N1 flu.
Since the event and the schedules of artistes are finalised in advance, the organisers had decided to postpone it because the city witnessed the H1N1 flu outbreak at its peak then. The medical fraternity also anticipates a second wave of the flu in winter during December. The Mandal’s executive president Shrinivas Joshi said, "We decided not to delay it further, considering its popularity among the music lovers
http://www.sakaaltimes.com/2009/11/0318 ... in-Ja.html
PUNE: The Sawai Gandharva music festival, which is popular even among music aficionados abroad, will now be held from January 7 to 10 next year.
The annual music festival, which is held in December, was earlier postponed by Arya Sangeet Prasarak Mandal, the organising body, in view of the spread of H1N1 flu.
Since the event and the schedules of artistes are finalised in advance, the organisers had decided to postpone it because the city witnessed the H1N1 flu outbreak at its peak then. The medical fraternity also anticipates a second wave of the flu in winter during December. The Mandal’s executive president Shrinivas Joshi said, "We decided not to delay it further, considering its popularity among the music lovers