Grand finale of Takshila Utsav wows city audience

Patna: The three-day cultural extravaganza, Takshila Utsav, organized on the premises of College of Arts and Crafts, had a grand finale here on Sunday with presentation of classical songs and dance. Noted musicians and dancers kept the audience spellbound with their performances.
The function opened with the performance of noted classical vocalist Ashwini Bhide Deshpande, a biochemistry doctorate from Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, lending a classical aura to the event.The sync of tabla and harmonium took the audience to a different level and was applauded by one and all. The performance provided a veritable weekend treat to the audience. Mithilesh Jha and Vinay Mishra accompanied her on tabla and harmonium respectively.
She was ably followed by a mesmerizing fusion of three different dance forms – Odissi, Kathak and Bharatnatyam – by Kavita Dwivedi, Malti Shyam and Ragini Chandrashekhar. The festival was organized under the aegis of Takshila Educational Society.
Programme coordinator Yashwant Parashar told TOI on Sunday evening that Takshila Utsav, an annual event, focuses on presenting highest quality of art forms before the audience.
The fest kicked off on Friday with a performance of celebrated Dhrupad exponents Gundecha brothers. Pt Umakant Gundecha and Pt Ramakant Gundecha were accompanied by Pt Akhilesh Gundecha on pakhawaj. The second day of the Utsav saw the performance of Pt Madhup Mudgal, the maestro who has legions of admirers across the world with his one-off 'khayal' performance. Mudgal graced the occasion with his daughter Savani Mudgal, also a singer. The father-daughter duo was accompanied by Shambhunath Bhattacharjee on tabla and Vinay Mishra on harmonium. The performance was followed by renowned sitar player Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan, who was accompanied by Pandurang Pawar on tabla.