Music lovers were treated to a musical feast of Hindustani classical at the two-day ITC Sangeet Sammelan held recently. This year the Sangeet Sammelan was held in honour of the  Hindustani singer Acharya Pandit Govind Vithal Bhave whose mission was to promote and spread Hindustani music in Bangalore.

The show began with ITC SRA Guru Pandit Buddhadev Das Gupta playing various raagas on the sarod, which enthralled the audience with his musical genius; his distinctive style of music had the audience asking for more. The highlight of the evening was the performance by Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty another guru at the academy, famed for his quality of expression and knowledge of vocal music. The quality of his vocal delivery was astounding, creating contours in the air, which one could enjoy.  At the end of his scheduled performance, due to huge demand from the audience, Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty performed a short raaga that left feelings of yearning, joy, sorrow and hoper. The recital concluded to an appreciative applause and smiles from the audiences.

On the second day, the evening started off with ITC SRA Scholars Joyeeta Sanyal on sitar followed by Vocalist Manali Bose. The two-day event ended with a stunning performance by Santoor maestro Shiv Kumar Sharma who was accompanied on tabla by Yogesh Samshi. The duo of Shiv Kumar Sharma and Yogesh Samshi presented a mesmeric combination of the Santoor with tabla as the encore.

The thunderous applause that followed was a tribute to the great performers who treated the audiences to two extraordinary evenings of Hindustani classical notes and beats. The ITC Sangeet Sammelan in Bangalore has become an annual important cultural for the music lovers of the city which is organised by the ITC Sangeet research academy. The Academy is the unique example of the traditional Indian style of teaching Hindustani classical music both vocal and instrumental, through the Guru-Shishya Parampara.