Soul-stirring music at this event

The annual Shivratri Sangeet Mahotsava held in Varanasi was a connoisseurs’ delight. The three-day festival was a beautiful combination of sur, laya and taal. Artists l, through their performances, touched the soul of the audience that even had stalwarts like Pt Sajan Mishra and

Pt Channu Lal Mishra

, among them.

Dr Supriya Sah

Aarika Keyal

Bhagirath Jalan

The festival began with a kathak performance by

Richa Jalan

, followed by Arika Kyal. The upcoming artists were appreciated by the audience. Kathak artists Bhawan Kyal and Devyani Kanodia teamed up to present a dadra Kahe Rokat Dagariya Sanwariya. Bhagirath Jalan, the next artist on the stage, regaled the audience with some semi-classical vocal presentations. The highlight of the inaugural day was a performance by

sarangi maestro Lakha Khan

. He began with Ganesh vandana and went on to present Shiv bhajan in Raag Bilaval, taking the evening to a different level.

Dr Rakesh Kumar

Ragini Maharaj

and Vishal Krishna

(L) Aeliy (R) Ramesh Bhai Ojha

The subsequent days had performances of artists like

Odissi

exponent

Madhvi Mudgal

, who presented a beautiful blend of grace and expressions on several raag based compositions. She concluded her performance based on Vallabhacharya’s work Madhurashtakam in raag Malika. Dr Supriya Sah, sitar exponent, also regaled the audience with her performance. She presented alaap in raag Maru Bihag and several other compositions.
Vocalists Sudha Raghunathan, Nupur Joshi, Kathak artist Ragini Maharaj and Vishal Krishna among others also performed in the festival.

(L) Alisha (R) Aljosa

(L) Anil (R) Arudima Mishra

(L) Nupur Joshi (R) Lakha Khan

(L) Pt Sajan Mishra (R) Pt Channu Lal Mishra