MUMBAI: Sahitya Kala Parishad has been a pioneer in promoting various musical and dance forms of India. It now brings back the magical performances of Thumri with the Thumri festival. The 3-day musical event will start at 6:30 PM on 26th and will go on till 28th August 2022 at Kamani Auditorium, Mandi House, Delhi. This musical festival will represent the melodious journey of Hindustani classical music with the line-up of eminent artists and their exponential disciples.
On the first day, the evening will witness some mesmerising performances, starting by Madhumita Ray. Born into an artist’s family, Madhumita Ray’s entry into the world of music was no surprise. Her father, the late C.R Pakrashi, was a painter and one of India’s most renowned stamp designers and a connoisseur of classical music, and mother Kalyani Pakrashi, was a sitar prodigy. Madhumita Ray received her Khayal training from Pandit Vasant Thakar and later from Ustad Ghulam Taqi Khan and Ustad Ghulam Hussain Khan, sons of the legendary Ustad Mushtaq Hussain Khan of Rampur. At different stages she has learnt from Pandit Balasaheb Poochwale and Pandit Ramashray Jha. Madhumita's music thus follows the Gwalior-Rampur format. This will be followed by Pt. Bholanath Mishra’s performance who is an extremely versatile singer, who has a rich, varied, and high-spirited repertoire ranging from complex classical ragas to the "Purab ang" thumri, kajri, jhoola, Baranasi etc. to bhajans and ghazals. Born into a musician's family in Azamgarh district, Uttar Pradesh, this illustrious singer traces his musical lineage to the "Parampara '' of Sangeetacharya Pandit Sukhdeo Maharaj of the Banaras Gharana. The performance on the first day will be concluded by Indrani Mukherjee who is a Hindustani classical vocalist and Thumri exponent in India. Her singing repertoire covers Khyal and Thumri. She was a scholar student of ITC Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkata under the guidance of Pandit Arun Bhaduri. She is an empanelled artist of ICCR and Spic Macay and high-grade artist in All India Radio for Khyal and Thumri.
On the second day of the festival, the audience will get to hear talented artists like Dr. Rita Dev who is a notable name in the arena of Hindustani Classical Music. A rich vocalist from the famous Banaras Gharana, her repertoire includes both classical and semi-classical genres like Khayal, Thumri, Dadra, Kajri, Holi, Jhoola, Chaiti, Tappa and Bhajan. Trained under Padma Vibhushan Vidushi Dr. Girija Devi, the legendary Queen of Thumri for over 25 years, Dr. Rita carved the beautiful style of the Gharana. She is A grade artist of All India Radio. The event will continue with a beautiful performance by Sonali Bose who was trained under Shri Sunil Niyogi for 20 years and after that she became a disciple of Thumri Queen Padma Vibhushan Girija Devi and was trained under her. She is also artiste of All India Radio & Doordarshan and has received the award of Prestigious Research Fellowship on Thumri- Tappa from Dept. Of Culture, Government of India. The day will end with Kakali Mukherjee who is the disciple of Sushri Sipra Bose and Padam Vibhushan Girija Devi ji.
The last day of the festival will witness the performance of renowned artists like Indresh Mishra, who is an eminent Indian classical vocalist representing the Kirana & Banaras Gharana. Born in a musical family, he received his initial training from his father Pt. Uma Nath Mishra. He has also imbibed the nuances of the Tabla from his uncle Pt Ram Naresh Mishra. The evening will continue with Sunanda Sharma who has a mellifluous rendition of Banaras Gharana style of gayaki. The highly revered Padma Vibhushan awardee Dr. Vidushi Girija Devi has trained her. The highlight of the evening will be Padma Shri Shubha Mudgal who is a renowned Hindustani classical singer. Her repertoire includes the genres of khyal, thumri, dadra, and Indian pop.
Sharing her views about the event, Dr. Monica Priyadarshini, Sahitya Kala Parishad Secretary, said, “Sahitya Kala Parishad has been organizing Thumri Festival on a grand scale for over a decade to keep alive the grace of this musical form from the courts of nawabs. With the kind of response we get from the audience, the effort behind organising this festival gets paid off. This gives us the motivation to make the event bigger and better with every edition. The past years were a little tough for artists but the fire within to promote Hindustani music was never reduced.”