Pune: 15th Vasantotsav to be held from January 20 to 23, say organisers

The 15th edition of Vasantotsav will be held at the Ganesh Kala Krida Manch from January 20 to 23 amid strict adherence of Covid guidelines laid out by the government and at only 50 per cent capacity, said the organisers of the event.

From an evening with violin maestro L Subramaniam to performances by vocalist Saurabh Kadgaonkar, the latest edition of Vasantotsav aims to bring back the music to a city that has battled a dreaded disease, mourned loved ones and continues to be in the grip of fear.

“Vasantotsav is a special event where we celebrate an array of musical genres by inviting some of the best artists. This is the 15th edition of the festival and we will also be celebrating my grandfather’s centenary, which we couldn’t do last year,” says singer Rahul Deshpande, grandson of the Vasantrao Deshpande, in whose memory the festival is held.

Vasantotsav is organised by the Vasantrao Deshpande Prathishthan under the aegis of MIT World Peace University.

The opening evening will feature a duet by Nayan Ghosh and Ishaan Ghosh on sitar and tabla and Subramaniam and group’s performances. On Saturday, the stage will feature Kadgaonkar as well as a talk show by film actor Nana Patekar. The final performance of the day will be light music titled ‘Rahul Deshpande Collective’ featuring Deshpande, Deepti Mate, Sanjoy Das, Ojas Adhiya, Milind Kulkarni, Anay Gadgil, Abhijit Badhe and Manish Kulkarni.

Sunday, a performance of Nilesh Parab and Krushna Musale on Dholki will be followed by ghazals and semi-classical music by Anup Jalota. The festival will end with a performance by Rahul.

“In pre-Covid times, we used to have the festival in an open ground in an open setting in front of 12-15,000 people. For the first 10 years, we organised the festival in Ramanbaug, then we shifted to Pandit Farms and now it will take place at Ganesh Kala,” Rahul said.