Legacy of India’s oldest festival of classical music preserved

JALANDHAR: As 143rd edition of Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan, the oldest festival of Indian classical music, it would have a befitting tribute to its rich legacy in “Harivallabh – A Rich Tradition of Musical Genius” – a coffee table book on comprehensive history of the festival. Enriched with several interesting documents, including images of handwritten manuscripts by Baba Harivallabh in Devnagri and Gurmukhi, several interesting anecdotes and rare photographs, it gives a peep not only into the history of the festival alone but also the music tradition of the subcontinent. The book will be released during the festival.

The nearly a century-and-half-old event opens on Monday evening. The book authored by Rakesh Dada, a mechanical engineer by training and an iron merchant with strong passion for Indian classical music, traces the journey from a memorial ceremony in 1875 started by Baba Harivallabh to the prestigious national festival of today. Around 700 photographs — including an image of invitation card of 1923 and a group photograph of maestros who performed in 1935 — their hand written notes, their signatures, letters, have been included in the book, apart from several interesting anecdotes. The photos and information have been sourced from several music lovers in and outside India. The also showcases the shared musical heritage across Redcliff Line.

Dada, treasurer of the Harivallabh Sangeet Mahasabha for the last 25 years, has a family history aligned with the event. About what triggered the idea of book, he said, “Some music researches would come to me and I would provide whatever information I had or would tell them who should they approach. Six years back, a researcher’s query started my research.”

“It was then that apart from collating whatever information I had, I started writing to people who would have the information or documents apart from, went to archives of old publications, our own souvenirs and asked the maestros whatever they knew about the old times from their elders or teachers,” he said.