16th SaMaPa Sangeet Sammelan held online
Mesmerizing & scintillating performances captivate listeners across the world
Jammu, March 02, 2021: SaMaPa (Sopori Academy of Music And Performing Arts), a premier and well known Music Academy and Educational Organization of India by Music Legend Pandit Bhajan Sopori and Music Maestro Abhay Rustum Sopori, presented four day long 16th annual edition of the SaMaPa Sangeet Sammelan, a preeminent Classical music and dance festival of the country in collaboration with IFFCO. The festival was held on the official Facebook page of SaMaPa featuring both young and eminent musicians of the country. Acclaimed as one of the most prestigious festivals of the country, SaMaPa Sangeet Sammelan, is normally held in the month of November in the National Capital. The annual calendar event was postponed due to the Covid pandemic and was eventually decided by the SaMaPa Board to be held online keeping in mind present circumstances.
The Sammelan featured mesmerizing & scintillating performances, which captivated the listeners. The festival commenced with Shehnai recital by Bhaskar Nath who presented Raga Madhuvanti accompanied by Athar Hussain Khan on Tabla. This was followed by Vocal recital by Pt. Bholanath Mishra who presented Raga Chandrakauns accompanied by Ajay Mishra on Harmonium and Abhishek Mishra on Tanpura. The 2nd evening featured Tabla Solo recital by Ustad Akhtar Hasan along with his son Zakir Akhtar Hussain presenting Teentaal accompanied by Sabir Hussain on Sarangi and Fardeen Hasan on Harmonium. This was followed by Sitar and Sarod duet by Kedia Bandhu (Pt. Manoj Kedia and Pt. Mormukut Kedia) who presented Raga Sindh Bhairavi accompanied by Ravi Shankar Singh on Tabla. The 3rd evening featured Dhrupad recital by Pt. Vinod Kumar Dwivedi and his son Ayush Dwivedi presenting Raga Bhopali accompanied by Mukesh Dwivedi on Pakhawaj. This was followed by Ustad Saeed Zafar Khan’s Sitar recital who presented Raga Bihagda accompanied by Rashid Zafar on Tabla. The 4th evening featured Flute recital by Pt. Rajendra Prasanna who presented Raga Bageshree & Banarsi Dhun accompanied by Abhishek Mishra on Tabla. The festival concluded with a Kathak dance recital titled ‘Darkness and Light’ by Shivani Varma. Noted anchor and broadcaster Sadhna Shrivastav compered the Sammelan.
The motto of SaMaPa is ‘Jan Jan Tak Sangeet’ (music to the masses) and the festival reached thousands of classical music lovers across India and abroad, said maestro Abhay Rustum Sopori. This glimpse of the variegated cultural dimension of our country was another step into the digital world after the 4 month long SaMaPa Digital Baithak held in 2020. Pandit Bhajan Sopori also expressed his happiness that the festival presented nuances of various gharanas and styles, which was highly appreciated by the listeners.
SaMaPa is a cultural movement translating from a deep-rooted vision of Pandit Bhajan Sopori in creating a unique, unbiased and empowering national level platform for presentation, propagation, and teaching of traditional music and performing arts for the artists and the young talents. SaMaPa is acclaimed as the Cultural Bridge of Jammu & Kashmir with the rest of the country and to have created a new generation of music connoisseurs.
