Baajaa Gaajaa 2009

Artistes | Schedule

The first ever Baajaa Gaajaa event was held in Pune from February 6-8, 2009 at Ishanya, Pune. Curated and conceptualized by tabla player
Aneesh Pradhan and vocalist Shubha Mudgal,
the three day event was organized by Underscore Records Pvt. Ltd with Ishanya as its Joint presenting Partner.

Artistes

 


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Pandit Shivkumar Sharma

Pandit Shivkumar Sharma

A name synonymous with santoor, Shivkumar Sharma was trained in vocal music and tabla by his father Umadutt Sharma,
a disciple of vocalist Bade Ramdas of Banaras and Harnam Singh of the Kudau Singh tradition of pakhawaj playing.
Umadutt Sharma realized the potential of santoor and after extensive research on the instrument, guided Shivkumar Sharma to establish the instrument on the classical concert platform.

Shivkumar Sharma on his part made important modifications to the instrument and created a new technique of playing, which allowed him to sustain the notes and thus maintain continuity of sound.

In addition to his being one of the senior-most performers of North Indian art music, Shivkumar Sharma has lent his innovative approach to experimental albums entitled Call of the Valley, Feelings, Mountains, among others.  His faith in the Vedanta and Upanishadic philosophy, led him to create music for shlokas from the Upanishads in a special album.

He has been one of those rare musicians who have successfully straddled the seemingly diametrically opposed worlds of art music and film music.  His compositions for blockbusters like Silsila, Lamhe, Chandni and Darr, are all-time favourites.

Today, Shivkumar Sharma has been featured on over hundred commercial recordings.

In recognition of his contribution to Indian music, he has been conferred upon with several awards at the national and international level.  Some of these are the Honorary Citizenship for the City of Baltimore, USA (1985), Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1986), Maharashtra Gaurav Puraskar (1990), Honorary Doctorate from the University of Jammu (1991), Padmashree (1991), Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan Award (1998) and Padma Vibhushan (2001).

His style is being faithfully executed by a host of disciples from India and abroad.

Dr. Balamuralikrishna

Dr. Balamuralikrishna

The versatility of the much-acclaimed Carnatic vocalist Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna was recognized during his childhood.  Belonging to the Thyagaraja parampara, Dr. Balamuralikrishna is also accomplished as a violinist, a viola player and a khanjira and mridangam player.  A prolific composer with compositions spanning various song-forms, he has explored rare raags in his performances. He has lent his voice to compositions in many languages.

His collaborative work with Hindustani musicians has been applauded by audiences and he has been a recipient of several national and international awards.  In particular, he was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1971 and the Padma Vibhushan in 1991.

Dr. Balamuralikrishna has been a member on many prestigious government and non-government panels.

 

Films

 


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Mansoor04Still from “Bishar Blues” screened on February 6, 2009

Synopsis:

Bengali Fakirs are Islamic people who live in Bengal, in Eastern India. The Bengalis are the second largest ethnic language group who practice Islam. The Fakirs are Bengali with their own typical ethnic, cultural and geographical mix. In their practice of Islam they have extended it’s scope over the complex multiplicities of their own land.
The Fakirs believe that to know oneself  is to know God. There is no higher entity than Man. In fact they search for Allah in Man. Through the practice of this indigenous form of Islam, called Marfat, they keep Islam open-ended. Marfat is passed on in the oral tradition through songs.
Bishar Blues undertakes a journey to understand Marfat through encounters with various Fakirs and their songs.

Amitabh [640x480]Director Amitabh Chakraborty speaks to the audience after the screening of Bishar Blues.

Performances

 


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PGUM [800x600]

1871 in 2009: The Parsi Gayan Uttejak Mandali

In October 1870, Mumbai saw the birth of the Parsi Gayan Uttejak Mandali, one of the earliest formal music clubs established in the city for the study and performance of Hindustani music.  Under the leadership of its founder Kaikhushro Navrojee Kabrajee (1842-1904), a novelist, playwright and journalist, the Mandali encouraged amateur singers from Parsi families to learn music from well-known musicians on its staff and to present public concerts on a non-professional basis.  One of the most important aspects of the Mandali’s programmes was the inclusion of a wide variety of musical forms from art or classical music and folk repertoire.  Much of this repertoire has passed into oblivion due to a variety of reasons.  Significantly, Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande (1860-1936), eminent music educationist and scholar, had a long association with the Mandali, as a student and a teacher.

To commemorate the vital role of music clubs and music circles in India and to bring to light the rich repertoire presented in the late nineteenth century, Baajaa Gaajaa 2009 featured a reconstruction of the first jalsa or concert held by the Mandali on April 28, 1871.  Some of the compositions included in this jalsa were presented by leading vocalists from Mumbai and Pune.

This concert held on February 6, 2009 at Baajaa Gaajaa 2009, was curated by Shubha Mudgal (vocalist and composer) and Aneesh Pradhan (tabla player and composer).  Research for the performance was conducted by Aneesh Pradhan.

SpinScratchSpin-n-Scratch on February 7, 2009

A concert of electronic music featuring DJ Gaurav Issar and colleagues collaborating in concert with practitioners of traditional music. Featured artistes included  Devaki Pandit, Rakesh Chaurasia, Sumitra Devi, Hitesh Prasad, Sanjoy Das and others.

MaestrosMuseMaestro’s Muse on February 8, 2009

The earliest recordings of Indian music date back to 1902.  Since then, a wealth of recorded music has provided a source of tremendous inspiration and information to successive generations.  Even maestros of the present have been emotionally and intellectually influenced by these recordings.  This concert was a tribute to this recorded treasure of music.

The presentation featured the Hindustani santoor maestro Shivkumar Sharma and the renowned Carnatic vocalist Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna.  They spoke of the inspiration they drew from earlier recordings or how they had diverted from them.  They played back some of these recordings for the audience.  This was followed by their musical response to this music from the past.

Sponsors

 


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Expo

 


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Expo1 [640x480]Expo2 [640x480]The expo at Baajaa Gaajaa 2009 provided stalls for independent record labels, book publishers, event organizers, instrument-makers, music instruments’ dealers, educational institutions, and media.  This space encouraged interaction between these agencies, musicians and music lovers, who came from various parts of the country.

List of Exhibitors:

Live Natural -Himalayan Natural Mineral Water
Bharatiya Tantuvadya Kendra(Tanpura Maker)
Chaitanya Multimedia
Meera Music
Department Of Media,Music & Cultural Studies- Macqaurie university , Sydney
Vishnu Sutar ( Tabla Maker)
Milind Musicals ( Harmonium Maker)
Kriti-kon
Mukesh Narang
Saptak Archives
Pro Helvetia
Earthsync India Pvt. Ltd.
KyaZoonga.com
Counter Culture Records
Only Much Louder
Parikrama Inc.
Babblefish Productions
Underscore Records Pvt.Ltd.
Village Music Club
NDTV India
Furtados Music (India) Pvt.Ltd.
Rock & Raga
Rock Lounge
Planet Radio City
Radio City
Jalsa Ghar
Bajaj Allianz General Insurance
Bhargava Musik
Navdikar Musicals
Food & Beverage Lounge : St.Laurn


Contact

info@BaajaaGaajaa.com

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