Swara Samrat Festival: A New Milestone

The Swara Samrat Festival steps into its 13th year. This festival is highly acclaimed as one of the country's best classical music festivals, featuring performances by India's most accomplished scholars and Ustads (maestros) of Raga music. This year will be no exception.

The Swara Samrat Festival will run for three days-December 12, 13, and 14-at Nazrul Mancha. This year's festival will be adorned with innovative collaborations (jugalbandis) and unique performances.

Every year, the Swara Samrat Festival is organized by one of today's foremost Sarod players, Padma Shri Pandit Tejendra Narayan Majumdar and his family, under the banner of the Shree Ranjani Foundation. The festival is named after Tejendra Narayan's guru, Swar Samrat Ali Akbar Khan.

Pandit Tejendra Narayan Majumdar said, "I don't have the capacity to measure what a colossal artist Ali Akbar Khan was! This festival is named after him, and I wish to see the promotion of Raga music events even more widely. The Swar Samrat Festival not only features legendary artists but has always provided opportunities to young talents. It is my firm belief that these young artists will one day become legends. This year too, many young artists will get a chance to showcase their talent."

Majumdar further mentioned that the festival will greatly miss Ustad Zakir Hussain. He passed away last year on the very day he was scheduled to perform at Swar Samrat.

The press conference for this year's Swar Samrat Festival was bustling with esteemed artists, as in previous years. The gathering was lively with the presence of renowned artists such as Ajay Chakraborty, Bickram Ghosh, Tanmoy Bose, Lopamudra Mitra, Joy Sarkar, film director Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury, and many other distinguished personalities.

This year's three-day event will feature a constellation of artists. A tribute to Ustad Zakir Hussain will be presented by contemporary maestros, including Ustad Taufiq Qureshi (Djembe), Pandit Bickram Ghosh (Tabla), Pandit Rakesh Chaurasia (Flute), and others.

There will be a combined performance featuring Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar (Vocal) and Suresh Talwalkar (Tabla).

Special attractions include:

A Sitar-Sarod Jugalbandi by Samanwaya Sarkar (Sitar) and Abhishek Lahiri (Sarod).

A Kathak-Bharatnatyam Jugalbandi by Pandit Rajendra Gangani (Kathak) and Vidushi Rama Vaidyanathan (Bharatnatyam).

A Hindustani-Carnatic Vocal Jugalbandi* by Pandit Jayateerth Mevundi (Hindustani Classical Vocalist) and Abhishek Raghuram (Carnatic Classical Vocalist).

However, one of the festival's main attractions this year is a combined performance featuring Kavita Krishnamurthy (Vocalist), Sujata Mohapatra (Odissi Dance), and Tanmoy Bose (Tabla). This is likely the first such performance in India.

And that's not all; the final day's surprise is a performance by Pandit Tejendra Narayan Majumdar (Sarod) and Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri (Tabla).

The Swara Samrat Festival has always given opportunities to newcomers, and this year is no exception. Pandit Tejendra Narayan Majumdar's students will present a captivating performance, directed by his talented son, Indrayudh Majumdar.

In the winter evening, the whole of Kolkata will bask in the warmth of classical music.