Music fest to herald spring

Indian classical vocalist and organiser of Vasantotsav, Rahul Deshpande tells The Guide what's in store at the music festival

Untimely rains delayed Vasantotsav, the festival that music lovers from the city really look forward to, from November to January. But the delay has resulted in a stronger line-up at the festival so fans need not be all that disappointed about the wait. Vasantotsav, the mega music festival organised by Dr Vasantrao Deshpande Pratishthan in the memory of the legendry Hindustani classical vocalist Dr Vasantrao Deshpande will take place between January 21 and 23.



This is the fifth consecutive year that the festival will be held in the city and this time, there's a music feast in store with so many maestrosu00a0 coming together on one stage to charm music aficionados.u00a0 The line up of artists for the three-day festival includes Pt Vishwamohan Bhat, Pt Mukul Shivputra, Hariharan, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Rahul Deshpande and Louis Banks.

Rahul Deshpande, the grandson of Dr Deshpande, reveals what is special about the festival this yea, "There's a mix of every genre of music at the festival this time. For instance, Pt Vishwmohan Bhat will render a Folk Art performance, while Louis Banks will perform pure Jazz, no fusion."u00a0

u00a0While sharing the highlights of the music festival, Deshpande adds, "We are happy to continue the tradition of presenting various forms of music before music lovers. Vasantotsav will provide a unique opportunity to hear
these different forms of music from veterans on a single stage."u00a0u00a0

The performance that the singer is looking forward to, himself is the one by Pt Mukul Shivputra, who happens to be Deshpande's guru. He says, "The crowd-pullers will be Hariharan and Louis Banks with the Matrix troupe.

We will also get to hear Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, who will be performing in the city after 5 to 6 years!"

Recalling earlier experiences during Vasantotsav, Rahul relates, "We've been fortunate that we have always had very encouraging reactions from the audience here. We look forward to seeing a lot of the younger generation this time."