Musical feast from Wednesday, December 14 to Sunday, December 18
PUNE: All the preparations are completed for the 68th Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav, organized by Arya Sangeet Prasarak Mandal, which will start with the performance of disciple of Bharat Ratna Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and Kirana Gharana exponent Pandit Upendra Bhat, at 4 PM on Wednesday, December 14. It will be followed by performances by vocalists Shashwati Mandal and Rattan Mohan Sharma. The day will conclude with a performance of Sarod Maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan.
The festival will be held from December 14-18 at the Sports Complex of Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth and a huge pandal, which can accommodate 7,000 to 8,000 music lovers, has been created, informed Arya Sangeet Prasarak Mandal’s executive president Shrinivas Joshi. He asserted that this year, there is a special charm to the Mahotsav, as the birth centenary of Pandit Bhimsen Joshi is being celebrated. As part of it, music connoisseurs can witness an 18-feet portrait of a young Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, clicked by veteran photographer W N Bhat, which has been erected, informed Joshi.
For the convenience of music lovers, adequate two-wheeler and four-wheeler parking arrangements have been made. LED screens have also been put up at the venue and there will be food stalls at the festival venue. Moreover, there will be music-related stalls on one side of the pandal and stalls of the sponsors on the other side.
State-of-the-art toilets for male and female music lovers have been set up behind the pandal. The PMPML will operate special night buses to four different locations for the convenience of music lovers, Joshi said.
He also said auto unions from Pune have assured to extend their support to the Mahotsav.
