MUMBAI: Second season of MTV India Music Summit, which was held on 12-14 October'18, an initiative by Musiconcepts concluded with an absolute bang. The credit for this exceptional music galore goes to the founders Mala Sekhri, Ambika Srivastava, Aparna Joshi, Nippie Singh, Deepak Sahai, who with their collective efforts, made this Summit, a successful event. MTV India Music Summit’s tag line ‘Ek Sachha Sur’ totally lived up to its mantra of both delivering and getting music and musicians under one roof. 

The summit was meant for true music lovers and was one of the best things that ever happened to the non-music lovers too. Held at Fairmont Jaipur, the three-day musical display was mind boggling with music stalwarts and upcoming musicians, showcasing what they are best known for. The venue itself (Fairmont Jaipur) gave a heritage vibe and the cold winds were absolutely bearable as some coffee and alcohol went in our systems. Now for those, who couldn't make it to this event, we give you a gist on what happened during these three days.

Day 1

The day started with the inauguration, where the founders spoke on the ‘making of MTV India Music Summit’. It was followed by ‘Mizo Cardinal Choir’ who stunned the audience with their voice and the song Ru Ba Ru, which was an apt performance that kick-started the day. Later, one of the most awaited talk sessions, ‘Kanjeevaram Conquers Kolkatta’, where Usha Uthup told how comfortable she was with her own voice. Her remarkable confidence, narration of her journey from a night club singer to becoming a big renowned personality and one of the most celebrated artists in India, Usha’s words imbibed in the hearts of many.

Going further, the day witnessed Manjari Chaturvedi’s dance performance and her talk session about ‘tawaifs’, which was an absolute eye opener. As the summit continued beyond the dusk, the audience saw some fabulous performances by Beatles Forever and Dr L Subramanian - the God Of Indian Violin, who mesmerized the audience with his mind blowing performance.

One of the best Ghazal singers Hariharan, who is widely known for Tu Hi Re from the film Bombay and Chappa Chappa from Maachis, serenaded the crowd with an old-style 'mehfil'. For all the jazz lovers, The Songbird of New Orleans, Robin Barnes took to the stage and slayed with her magical voice. Besides, renowned singer Suresh Wadkar graced the stage at 12:30 am with his unplugged songs.

Day 2

Well Day 2 started with Pandit Ajay Prasanna’s morning ragas, post which, music maestros Shruti Sadolikar Katkar, Suresh Wadkar lit up the ‘cup of morning charisma’. Ustad Mazhar Ali Khan, Jawaad Ali Khan and Danish Hussain paid tribute to the celebrated Hindustani vocalist, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. Amidst noon, NCPA’s ‘Ramakrishnan Trio’ sisters impressed the audience. Also, their elegance and sincerity towards music, gave them the tagline of being ‘Born Brilliant’.

The second-day of the event also witnessed Shankar Mahadevan’s talk session called ‘The Key Note’ with Prasoon Joshi, where Shankar spoke on how we should make use of the rising technology to support music but not use it to compose music. Later, Ambi Subramaniam, who was awarded with ‘Raymond’s Emerging Artist of the year’ award, scintillated the evening with his performance called the (Violin Wizard).

Well if you think the summit was all about performances, then you’re wrong as it also witnessed ‘talk sessions’, with ‘What’s that playing on the radio’ being one of the fantabulous ones. This session was attended by the radio biggies like Indira Rangarajan, Rajat Uppal and others, who spoke on regional stations, licensing and their content.

The intriguing radio session was followed by Begum Parween Sultana’s performance on classical music, which got all the seats booked in the hall. Adding to these performances were internationally known classical vocalist and Sangita Kalanidhi Award-winner Aruna Sairam, who treated folks by ‘Ragas by Night’ with an hour-long performance. Further, the nostalgia of old songs kicked in at midnight with Kanika Malhotra. The night was lit by the stupendous performance of Shankar Mahadevan, who made the crowd dance to his hit numbers. Next act was called ‘The Great Indian Wedding’, where the entire Ghazi Khan Manganiar troup, along with Jasbir Jassi, demonstrated songs played during a wedding in ones house.

Day 3

The Flute sisters Suchismita and Debopriya flagged off the day with their noteworthy performance on Hindustani classical music. Pandit Chhannulal Mishra, whose, by his performance, ‘Divine Mornings’, took people in a different world all together. The Hindustani classical singer, from Varanasi, displayed a mastery over rhythm and melody. SOI Chamber Orchestra, by NCPA, pulled off their best, but their performance on popular Bollywood track, Jai Ho made the crowd go gaga as the audience shouted loud saying ‘once more’. The day ended on a good note with the God of Guitar Prasanna and workshop by Dhanashree Pandit Rai on decoding ragas.

Truly, MTV India Music Summit stayed true to its motive by showcasing Hindustani music on a large platform, with some great, empowering musicians and talk shows. In terms of visual display, Fairmont Jaipur was the apt host for this extravaganza, which gave everyone an outstanding heritage feel with its lit up lawns. In spite of the venue being this massive, there was absolutely no confusion as there were signs and symbols chalked out quite well. Overall, hats off to the makers and the PR team of MTV India Music Summit, who made this event a memorable one.