MUMBAI: Mumbai will witness Hindustani classical music's first-of-its-kind 20-hour-long concert, where 16 maestros from the world of Indian classical music will perform. The concert, which will celebrate rare ragas, will begin at 8 December 2018 at 6.00 a.m on Saturday and culminate at 3.00 a.m. on Sunday at the Shanmukhananda Chandrasekandra Saraswathi Auditorium in Sion.

Conceived by Art and Artistes Founder-Director Durga Jasraj, concert '8 Prahar' will celebrate music of every Prahar (the day broken into three-hour segments from dawn). It's a joint initiative of Art and Artistes and Pancham Nishad to showcase the rich treasure of ragas in Indian classical music at the apt time of the day.

The unique line up of the Jugalbandi:

Session 1:  - 6.00 a.m. to 4.15 p.m.

Shahid Parvez and Sanjeev Abhyankar (Sitar and Vocal), Rajan and Sajan Mishra (Vocal Duet), Satish Vyas and Rupak Kulkarni (Santoor and Flute) and Jayteerth Mevundi  and Praveen Godkhindi (Vocal and  Flute).   

Session 2: - 5.00 p.m. to 2.30 a.m

Debashish Bhattacharya and Milind Raikar (Slide Guitar and Violin), Sawani Shende and  Shahswati Mandal (Vocal Duet), Rahul Deshpande and Shounak Abhisheki (Vocal Duet) and  Rashid Khan and Shujaat Khan( Vocal and Sitar).

The musical spread will not only bring rarely heard ragas vocally, but also instrumentally, as the flute, violin, Santoor, sitar, and slide guitar will all spin their magic.

Durga Jasraj founder-director of Art and Artistes reminisced, "As a child, I remember attending concerts which would go on till the wee hours of the morning. One got to hear so many different beautiful ragas. But now, since all concerts only happen in the evening, I feel that the rich traditional wealth of Hindustani classical ragas gets lost without being presented to the next generation of listeners and music lovers. This was what led me to think of the concept."

Pancham Nishad Creatives Director and founder Shashi Vyas said, “The entire structure of the music in India is based on the time frame divided into two parts from sunrise to sunset and from sunset to sunrise. Each part is then divided into four further parts called a 'prahar' comprising three hours each. Based on the division of 'prahars' of the day, in Hindustani Classical Music, every raga is designed to be performed during a particular 'prahar'. The performance of a particular raga at a particular time enhances its aesthetic effects, creating a positive and serene impact on the listeners' mind and soul."

This unique event is a humble attempt to bridge the gap that has been created between the perfect time to perform certain ragas and the opportunities to perform them at their proper time and to give music lovers the opportunity of listening to seldom-heard ragas as per the Prahar that they belong to.