New Delhi: A two-day festival with scintillating performances by the old and the young marked a two-day festival of dance and music to mark the 81st birthday of renowned sitarist Pandit Debu Chaudhuri.

The event was organized by the Umak Centre for Culture, an institution started by the renowned sitarist to pay homage to his guru Ustad Mushtaq Ali Khan.

But the annual UMAK Festival this year acquired a new meaning as it celebrates a unique blending of the music and dance of the old and the young.

The first day saw a captivating sitar recital by the renowned Padma Bhushan awardee Pandit Debu Chaudhuri, accompanied by the eminent Ustad Akram Khan on the tabla. It also featured an “Orchestral Ensemble” conducted by the sitarist’s son Prateek.

The second day saw performances by talented young musicians and dancers who have imbibed the best traditions of their Gurus who are elders in their own family.

The evening commenced with an engaging vocal recital by Pandit Ritesh and Rajnish Mishra, eminent artistes and sons of the very eminent vocal maestro Pandit Rajan Mishra of the Rajan-Sajan Mishra duo. The two young classical vocalists were accompanied by Durjay Bhaumik on the tabla and Zakir Dhaulpuri on the harmonium.

Prateek Chaudhuri, the son and disciple of Pandit Debu Chauduri, presented a performance with renowned tabla exponent Ustad Rafiuddin Sabri that held the audiences spell bound.

But the evening concluded with a scintillating kathak dance recital by eminent artist Pandit Deepak Maharaj, son and disciple of the iconic Pandit Birju Maharaj. He was accompanied by Ustad Akram Khan on the tabla, Santosh Sinha on the vocals, Ragini Maharaj on Bol Padhant, Ghulam Varis on the sarangi and Saleem on the sitar. Pandit Birju Maharaj was present on the occasion.

This year, the two-day concerts were to help the cause of “The All India Prakash Society” which is engaged in providing free food and education to underprivileged children.