Prabhakar Panshikar, the legendary actor and producer of the Marathi theatre. Our objectives include research and promotion of Theatre, Sanskrit Literature, and Indian Classical and other music. Our goals also include spreading the rich culture of Indian arts and music to the masses including the young generation. With these goals, we have started organising “Gaana Saraswati Mahotsav”, a Classical
Music festival since 2013. The first three editions in 2013, 2014, and 2015 have been very successful. HARMAN has been associated with this music event as the title sponsor since the event’s inception. The event has been named after Gaana Saraswati Padma Vibhushan Smt. Kishori Amonkar to honour and celebrate her contribution to the field of Indian Classical Music. Artistes who have performed in all the editions have included senior legendary artistes as well as talented upcoming artistes. All the editions have been held at prestigious venues in Pune and have been very well attended. Highlight of the first edition held on 2nd and 3rd March 2013 was a unique “guru poojan” by Smt. Amonkar’s disciples which was done following an age old tradition in India. The artistes who enriched the first edition by their performances included Kishori Amonkar herself (Vocal), Parveen Sultana (Vocal), Ashwini Bhide Deshpande (Vocal), A. Sivamani (Drum Fusion), Raghunandan Panshikar (Vocal), Bharati Amonkar (Odissi Dance), and Milind Raikar – Ravi Chary (Violin – Sitar Duet). The second edition was held on 1st and 2nd February 2014. The artistes who graced the occasion included Kishori Amonkar herself (Vocal), Shivkumar Sharma (Santoor), Shahid Parvez (Sitar), Ulhas Kashalkar (Vocal), Arati Ankalikar Tikekar (Vocal), Jayanthi Kumaresh (Veena), Raghunandan Panshikar (Vocal), Dhanashri Ghaisas (Vocal), and Tejashri Amonkar (Vocal). As the organisation grew in confidence, the third edition on 6th, 7th, and 8th February 2015 was held on a larger scale over 3 days. The artistes who regaled the audiences with their performances included Rashid Khan (Vocal), Malini Rajurkar (Vocal), Ganesh – Kumaresh (Violin Duet), Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande (Vocal), Rakesh Chaurasia – Vijay Ghate – Bhawani Shankar (Flute-Tabla-Pakhawaj), Niladri Kumar (Sitar), Anand Bhate (Vocal), Bhuvanesh Komkali (Vocal), Manjiri Asnare Kelkar (Vocal), Nandini Bedekar (Vocal), and Dinkar Panshikar (Vocal). As part of our goals of spreading music to the masses, we have also organised lectures by Smt. Amonkar herself on different scientific and aesthetic aspects of Indian Classical Music. We intend to build upon such initiatives in future.
