yet again ... getting lost ... then enjoying self-discovery ...

Musical offerings in Hanuman’s court Thanks are due to the team at Sruti . An edited version of this piece appears in their September 2019 issue. Ustad Moinuddin Khan, prior to his performance, shared, “ This is where I derive pleasure in playing ” while Vidushi Kaushiki Chatterjee conveyed respects of each of her family members to the deity. Her father too, like was the case with few other artists, had previously performed at the venue. Kankana Banerjee, the first lady to perform at Sankat Mochan, set up a record of sorts   by performing at the venue for the 41 st consecutive year. Shailaja Khanna in her article, An ode to the master musician, put it thus, “ the concert is regarded as on offering – a ‘hazari’ which literally translates to formal presence in the court of the ruler or divine ”. Banaras too has a role. Kathak maestro Shovana Narayanan had stated, during a performance at a temple nearby, “ at temples of Banaras we perform for God and ourselves, neither ...

Varanasi's Sankat Mochan Sangeet Samaroh celebrates the city, and the Indian classical music tradition Published by First Post on 16th April here .  Thanks are due to friends and colleagues for the ( almost ) daily trips to Sankat Mochan during the event, sharing music, sweets and else;  First Post and Rohini. Ghulam Mustafa Khan, mesmerising at 88 and a recent recipient of the Padma Vibhushan, sang a bhajan in Bhairvi. Nizami Brothers, of the Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah fame, sang Amir Khusrau’s Chaap Tilap, one of the few songs that elicited requests for an encore. Rashid Khan had the audience requesting specific songs and when he got up after his allotted time successfully urge him to take the stage again for yet another rendition.    Moinuddin Khan was also among the performers. Artists of this stature may often be a part of an event’s line up so why it is worth writing about? Well, because the event was held in a temple – the Sankat Mochan Temp...