Singers cast a spell in ‘AAI Marathi ...’ event

Nagpur: Aiming to promote the usage of Marathi language amid the millennials, Kanak Sur Mandir organized a musical evening ‘AAI Marathi — Jai Maharashtra’ on the occasion of Marathi Day at Scientific Society Hall, Laxmi Nagar, on Tuesday.
Around 50 singers and musicians from the academy presented different genres of Marathi songs comprising devotional songs, songs about patriotism, childhood and many more. Around 300 people attended the programme which highlighted the importance of conserving one’s culture and language.

Datta Harkare, organizer of the event, said, “Marathi language is one of the oldest languages in the world and people who use it are spread across the globe. It is one of the most calm and soothing languages which has humbleness and sweetness wove in it. But with the advent of other languages and migration to urban areas, the younger generation is forgetting the core basics of the language. Hence the initiative of the state government to devote a day to promote the language is highly encouraging for the people.”

Harkare added that the event also focuses on providing platform to singers and guiding them in their pursuit of becoming a professional, by equipping them with a mic and an audience. The singers are the students of the academy and have come from different suits of profession.

The musical evening started with a patriotic song ‘Ek Maharashtra desh ahe’ which was met with loud cheers and applause. The song proved to be a great start for the Marathi song enthusiasts. The song was followed by a devotional song ‘Jai Shardey Wageshwari’ wherein the audience joined the chorus and hummed along with the singers. Another devotional song ‘Jai Hari Vitthal’ also touched the chords of the music lovers.

The song ‘Sang sang Bholanath’ took the audience down the memory lane into their childhood and everyone was seen smiling and rejoicing the lyrics of the songs. The song ‘Khabardaar’ spoke of the exemplary feats of Chhatrapati Shivaji and his hard work to keep the Maratha empire intact.

Other songs that were played were ‘Keshava Madhava tujha namat re godwa’, ‘Are Saunsara Saunsara’, ‘Upayee’ and many more. Around 65 genres of Marathi songs including Malhari, wedding songs, abhang, shlok, others were sung at the programme.

One of the singers Kanaka Gadkari, said, “Such events raise awareness about the significance of the usage of one’s mother tongue, in our case, Marathi. We are trying to make the language more relatable to young generation by presenting numerous varieties of songs which they cannot only enjoy but also learn from. Our focus is also to promote the amateur singers and provide them a stage. Most of the singers belong to different professions but the love for music and their culture binds all of them together.”

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