It’s that time of the year once again when legendary musical maestros are slated to perform at one of India’s oldest music festivals — Shriram Shankarlal Music Festival 2017 — that is almost as old as Independent India. The Shriram Shankarlal Music Festival has been curated by Padmashree Shobha Deepak Singh, Festival Director and Vice Chairperson of Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra (SBKK) and will be held in the SBKK lawns from 30 March to 2 April from 7 p.m. to 10.30 p.m. daily at Shriram Bhartiya Kala Kendra in New Delhi.
The four day festival will kickstart with a vocal performance on 30 March by the doyenne of Hindustani music Girjia Devi followed by vocals by Ajoy Chakraborty. Other participating artists are Manjiri Asanare (vocal), Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma (instrumental on santoor), Biswajit Roy Chowdhury (instrumental on sarod), Rashid Khan (vocal), Purbayan Chatterjee (instrumental on sitar) and the grand finale on April 2 will be by none other than Pandit Jasraj.
The festival which began as a small concert with an informal gathering of musicians at Sumitra Charat Ram’s house at Delhi’s Curzon Road has now become a forum for the talented youth alongside the most authentic traditional musicians.
Says Shobha Deepak Singh, Festival Director & Vice Chairperson, SBKK: “This is the 70th edition of the festival and, after many years, we are hosting it in open air in the lawns of SBKK. In its nascent years, it was only the senior artists who were part of the festival, but now, we make special effort to include younger talent as well. Contrary to popular belief that classical music is losing its audience base, the success of the festival year after year proves that there is not only a discerning audience for classical music but also that classical music retains its unique position on Indian arts.”
The festival which began as a small concert with an informal gathering of musicians at Sumitra Charat Ram’s (the founder-patron of SBKK) house at Delhi’s Curzon Road has now become a forum for the talented youth alongside the most authentic traditional musicians.
Keeping in mind the season and the spirit of festivity, the artistes are slated to perform songs around Holi, Chaiti (semi-classical songs sung in the month of Chait rendered during Ramnavmi and typically about Lord Rama), Kajri (derived from the Hindi word Kajra, or kohl,often used to describe the longing of a maiden for her lover as the black monsoon cloud come hanging in the summer skies, notably sung during the rainy season), dadra and Ram bhajans.
The doyenne of Hindustani music, Padmabhushan Girija Devi represents the finest tradition of the Benaras gharana. Equally adept in singing Khayal on one hand and the semi-classical forms like Thumri, Chaiti, Tappa, Kajri etc., she has been on the concert platform for several decades. Her performances are distinguished by exquisite improvisations on the apparently simple texts of the composition. The phrasings are imbued with meanings, colour and feeling which make each of her concerts memorable.
The festival is on from 30 March and runs till 2 April 2017