Delhi Classical Music festival begins tommorrow

The sixth edition of the Delhi Classical Music Festival will see performances by stalwarts of Indian clasical music, including vocalists Ustad Iqbal Ahmed Khan and Pandit Jasraj as well as Grammy-winning Mohan veena exponent Vishwa Mohan Bhatt.
The five-day-long festival will be organized by the Department of Art, Culture and Languages, Government of Delhi and Sahitya Kala Parishad.
It will be inauguarated by Kapil Mishra, Minister of Art and Culture, Government of Delhi tommorrow at Kamani auditorium here.
Masters from different classical music traditions - vocalists, sitar players, veena vadaks, violanists to santoor maestros -- will be a part of the event.

The festival will open with a performance by Pandit Jasraj, the doyen of the Mewati Gharana, followed by a diversified ensemble by sitar maestro Ustad Nishat Khan, who will incorporate elements of the Gregorian chant, Western classical music, jazz, and Flamenco.
"Hindustani classical music has a rich repertoire of traditions and gharanas, each of which has contributed a unique style and tributary to the country's musical culture.

"Over the centuries, our classical music has enriched itself by incorporating different traditions and by intermingling of regional as well as international subtexts," says Pandit Jasraj.
Ustad Iqbal Ahmed Khan, an exponent of the Delhi Gharana, who has been promoting the works of Amir Khusro through his art will be performing on the second day and will be joined by violinist N Rajam, a pioneer of the revolutionary Gayaki Ang.

The festival will also see recitals by vocalist Kalpini Komkali and Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, classical duo of Ustad Mazhar Ali Khan and Ustad Jawaad Ali Khan, flautist Pandit Ronu Majumdar, Ustad Rashid Khan of Rampur-Sahaswan Gharana as well as Santoor maestro Pandit Satish Vyas.
"Contrary to popular perception, our classical music is not losing out to the modern pop culture. This is validated when we see bright young artists eager to master the art and spread it around the world.
"Events like the Delhi Classical Music help expand the reach of our young virtuosos and encourage more musical talents to take up the art" says Pandit Bhatt.

The festival will come to a close on October 22.