Kishori Amonkar named for Pandit Chaurasia award

Renowned classical singer Kishori Amonkar will be conferred the second Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia Puraskar, instituted by Gurukul Pratisthan here, for lifetime achievement at a musical event here, an organizer said here Monday.

The award will be presented to Mumbai-based Amonkar (82) by legendary flute exponent and music director Pandit Chaurasia at the two-day seventh 'Bansuri Utsav', scheduled here Jan 4-5.

The Bansuri Utsav (Flute Festival), aimed at popularizing the musical instrument flute, will see performances by top classical musicians including Pandit Chaurasia, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, Trilok Gurtu, Ravi Chari and Vivek Sonar.

Sonar, a senior musician and disciple of Pandit Chaurasia launched the 'Bansuri Utsav' in 2007 with a 'Flute Symphony in which 35 flautists participated simultaneously.

"Later, this grew to 100 flautists aged from 8-85, passionately creating an incredible melody of flutes accompanied by saxophone, djembe, keyboard and other musical instruments that is unique to this festival," Sonar said.

Last year, the inaugural award - which carries a cash prize of Rs.100,000 and a citation - was conferred on eminent Carnatic flute exponent Vidwan N. Ramani, Sonar said.

The Gurukul Pratisthan is a charitable trust here founded by Sonar to promote and popularize Indian classical music, conserve the carry forth the rich heritage and legacy of classical music and encourage young artistes.