Delhi gears for its annual classical music festival amid severe pollution 

Kashish Mittal will be performing for the first time at the festival
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

For more than 20 years,  the Delhi government has consistently held festivals for the arts —  be it classical music and dance, thumri and bhakti geet, or showcasing young artistes through Sopan. Being given performance opportunities in Delhi is always special for artistes. 

This year, the eagerly awaited Delhi Classical Music festival is being held at the Shri Ram Centre from December 3 to 5. Despite the city reeling under high pollution levels, the festival is expected to see high footfall. Ruchira Katyal of the organising body, Sahitya Kala Parishad, said that “due to the pollution, we are having the festival indoors this time”. In the past,  the festival used to be held in the picturesque Sunder Nursery. 

The line-up is intriguing — seven of the nine artistes, unusually, are vocalists, of which only two are female. While some, like vidushi Shubha Mudgal and Pt Ajoy Chakrabarty have performed at the festival before, some like Rindana Rihasya and Kashish Mittal are performing here for the first time. Interestingly, while most of the artistes have a link with Delhi, no one from the Delhi gharana has been included.

Ojesh Pratap Singh will sing solo for the first time at the festival
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

The first day features three singers — Ojesh Pratap Singh has accompanied his guru, Pt. Ulhas Kashalkar, on this stage earlier, but this will be his first solo concert. A professor of music at Delhi University, Ojesh has lived in the city for the past 25 years. He shared “I am happy that I am opening the festival, it is an honour and privilege. Like my guru’s ‘gayaki’ which is a composite of three ‘gharanas’, I will try to present different ‘gayakis’ in the allotted time.”

Rindana Rihasya is an assistant  professor of Music at Delhi University, and she is a disciple of the Kirana and Jaipur styles. She is grateful for the opportunity to perform, as there is a misconception among organisers that that academicians are not good  concert performers. The evening will conclude with Patiala gharana doyen, Pt Ajoy Chakrabarty.

The second day starts with vocalist Kashish Mittal of the Agra gharana. Kashish can be termed a Delhi boy, having studied at IIT, Delhi, and served in Delhi as an IAS officer, before he resigned to focus on music. A disciple of the late Pt Yashpaul of the Agra gharana, Kashish’s singing is robust and an authentic representation of his gharana. Says Kashish: “Agra gharana gayaki has a great link with Delhi.  Ustad Vilayat Hussain Khan and Ustad Yunus Hussain Khan both lived in Delhi for several years; it will be a privilege to try and showcase this great legacy at the festival.” Interestingly, while at IIT, Kashish was actively involved with organising SPIC MACAYconcerts on campus and has fond memories of the wonderful music shared.

Next, there will be a solo tabla recital  by Satyajit Talwalkar from Mumbai. The evening concludes with Kolkata’s Patiala gharana vocalist Deborshi Bhattacharya. 

The concluding day opens with a vocal recital by Delhi-based Kirana gharana exponent Harish Tiwari. Next is Delhi-based sitar maestro of the Maihar gharana Pt Shubhendra Rao. The festival concludes with the evergreen Vidushi Shubha Mudgal; again someone who had made Delhi her home.