Pune: The first ever ‘Pt. Sangameshwar Gurav Smruti Puraskar’ were presented to Anand Bhate & Sarang Kulkarni during the first edition of ‘Pt. Sangameshwar Gurav Sangeet Mahotsav’ held in the city today.. Renowned artist in the Indian Classical Music field Anand Bhate who is also known as ‘Anand Gandharv’ was honoured with ‘Pt. Sangameshwar Gurav Smruti Puraskar’ and Pune’s very own upcoming Sarod Player Sarang Kulkarni was bestowed with ‘Pt. Sangameshwar Gurav Yuva Puraskar’ at the hands of senior Tabla Maestro Suresh Talawalkar. The program was organised by Kalanubhav Charitable Trust at Shakuntala Shetty Auditorium at New Karnatak Highschool, Pune to commemorate the 1st Death Anniversary of legendary vocalist Pt. Sangameshwar Gurav. Chair person of Kalanubhav Charitable Trust – Bharati Barhate and trustee Pt. Kaivalyakumar were also present on this occasion.
Kalanubhav Charitable Trust honored Anand Bhate for his remarkable contribution towards ‘Hindustani Sangeet’. This award comprised of a Citation, Memento and a Cash Prize of Rs.25,000/- The second award – ‘Pt. Sangameshwar Gurav Yuva Puraskar’ was in the category of upcoming artist of Indian Classical Music and was presented to Sarod Player – Sarang Kulkarni. It comprised of a Memento and a Cash Prize of Rs.15,000/-
This was the first year of ‘Pt. Sangameshwar Gurav Sangeet Mahotsav’ and it was beautifully woven around a popular concept of Hindustani Sangeet – ‘Jugalbandi’. Sarang Kulkarni played his melodious Sarod Tunes along with his father and Guru Rajan Kulkarni. The duo was wonderfully accompanied by Nikhil Phatak on Tabla. In the second half viewers were amazed by the skillful Alaaps and fine tuning of Kirana Gharana’s well known artists Anand Bhate & Pt. Kaivalyakumar. This was the very first time when these two eminent artists had shared the stage together. They were accompanied by Suyog Kundalkar on Harmonium and Prashant Pandav on Tabla. The unmatched harmony of these artists astonished the viewers.