Classical treat for rasikas at three-day sangeet sammelan
The Hindu
The musicians at Chandigarh’s 43rd sangeet sammelan hosted by INT highlighted the specialities of different gharanas
The live-streaming of this year’s sangeet Sammelan reached a much larger audience, including Navjeevan Khosla, the INT’s 99-year-old founder-president. Though he could not attend the sammelan in person, he remained connected online and did not miss an opportunity to recall his associations with legendary performers. For instance, when Ashwini Bhide, the well-known representative of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana sang raag Madhmad Sarang, he said, “In 1945, I listened to this raag being sung by Bhurji Khan, the son and disciple of Ustad Alladia Khan, the founder of your gharana.”
Hampi, the UNESCO-recognised historical site, was the capital of the Vijayanagara empire from 1336 to 1565. Foreign travellers from Persia, Europe and other parts of the world have chronicled the wealth of the place and the unique cultural mores of this kingdom built on the banks of the Tungabhadra river. There are fine descriptions to be found of its temples, farms, markets and trading links, remnants of which one can see in the ruins now. The Literature, architecture of this era continue inspire awe.
Unfurling the zine handed to us at the start of the walk, we use brightly-coloured markers to draw squiggly cables across the page, starting from a sepia-toned vintage photograph of the telegraph office. Iz, who goes by the pronouns they/them, explains, “This building is still standing, though it shut down in 2013,” they say, pointing out that telegraphy, which started in Bengaluru in 1854, was an instrument of colonial power and control. “The British colonised lands via telegraph cables, something known as the All Red Line.”
The festival in Bengaluru is happening at various locations, including ATREE in Jakkur, Bangalore Creative Circus in Yeshwantpur, Courtyard Koota in Kengeri, and Medai the Stage in Koramangala. The festival will also take place in various cities across Karnataka including Tumakuru, Ramanagara, Mandya, Kolar, Chikkaballapura, Hassan, Chitradurga, Davangere, Chamarajanagar and Mysuru.