Setting the tone for the ‘Sangeet Utsav’, of which Deccan Herald is the media partner, Anup Jalota struck an instant rapport with the eager audience, interspersing every beautifully rendered bhajan with an amusing anecdote.
Sharing the secret of his ability to hold a note for long minutes, he said he owed his strength to Baba Ramdev but quickly added that those who want to enjoy the delights of heaven should think twice about following Ramdev’s prescriptions because it could leave them living out a rather long life on earth!
He opened the concert with his hugely popular bhajan, ‘Aisi laagi lagan, Meera ho gayi magan’. The appreciative applause from the audience prompted him to invite everyone to sing along with him.
Accompanying him were Amit Chaubey (tabla), Dhiren Raichura (guitar), Rohan Khatri (santoor) and Preeti Sait (vocal). Earlier, in the evening Dr A Ravindra, Special Advisor to the Chief Minister on Urban Affairs, inaugurated the music festival by lighting the lamp and assuring music lovers who had travelled long distances across the City that their drive through terrible traffic jams was certainly worth it, thanks to the line-up of ace musicians scheduled to perform.
Culture map
He said festivals like this would put Bangalore on the culture map at par with cities like Chennai, known to host famous sangeet sabhas.
Revenue Secretary Dr K S Prabhakar,and M R Jaishankar, MD of the Brigade Group, which is hosting the event, observed that music alone has the power to soothe stressed-out human beings. Bru Select, the main sponsor of the festival, announced the Bru Select Award for the ‘rasika’ (connoisseur) who after attending the concerts on all three days (Nov 12-14) is able to take a quiz on the performances.
SVN Music Academy, Bangalore and Carnatica are the driving force of ‘Bharat Sangeet Utsav 2010’.