MUMBAI: The much awaited 3 day music festival ‘Swar Utsav’ took place in Delhi this weekend. Festival was inaugurated by Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation; Aroon Purie, Chairman & Editor-in-Chief, India Today Group and Mala Sekhri, COO, Music Today.
The 3 day festival was a treat to Delhi’s music lovers. The uniqueness of this festival lied in its capacity to attract the best talent in all genres of Hindustani music namely devotional, classical, sufi, folk, fusion and now even Bollywood.
Day 1 featured Classical performance Raga By Moonlight by Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty followed by a fusion concert, Confluence which had maestros like Ustaad Shujaat Hussain Khan (Sitar), Pandit T. H. Vikku Vinayakram (Ghatam), George Brooks (Saxophone) and Ajay Prasanna (Flute).
Day 2 of Swar Utsav started early morning with devotional rendition, Divinity by Pandit Channulal Mishra who kept the audience spell-bound under the bright sun. The evening was a soulful affair with Qawwali by Warsi Brothers and mesmerising Sufiana Kalam by Hans Raj Hans.
Day 3 began with Gurbani session, Shabad Kirtan by young Ashupreet Kaur. And the finale was grand with Bollywood singer KK.
The three days of mesmerising music under nature’s bliss came to an end with people asking for more. Dignitaries present at the closing ceremony included Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Mr. Rakesh Srivastava, Senior Vice President, Hyundai Motors, Mala Sekhri, COO, Music Today among others.
Swar Utsav 2014 was embraced with much warmth by Delhi and the way audience turned up in thousands despite of chilling weather is really phenomenon.
Speaking about the event, Aroon Purie, Chairman & Editor-in-Chief – The India Today Group said “Swar Utsav was started by the India Today Group in 2000 and soon became the largest Indian Music Festival in Delhi. We, at The India Today Group are proud to be reviving this grand stage and bringing the best musicians in the country together for Delhi’s citizens.”
The annual music festival which won many accolades, had maestros performing and thousands of fans listening to them under the stars, is back with the immense support of many partners including Hyundai as the presenting partner.
The festival partners include Liberty, Organic India, Sahitya Kala Academy, The Punjabi Academy, Minsitry of Culture Government of India, and DDA amongst others.
