The young and talented Sumit Mishra of Kolkata lifted the trophy of “Classical Voice of India” at a great congregation of music worshippers that took place under the aegis of Sangeet Milon, a Lucknow-based group. They organised the grand finale of “Classical Voice of India 2016” and “Tabla Nawaz 2016” — two pan-India contests — at Lucknow’s Sant Gadge auditorium of the State Sangeet Natak Academy recently. Mahesh Salunkhe (Pune) won the title of Tabla Nawaz.
Akhilesh Yadav, chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, who graced the glittering prize-distribution ceremony, was highly impressed to see a huge gathering of classical music contestants along with their music-loving parents and erudite musicians as judges from across the country. After two day-long marathon sessions of evaluating hugely talented budding performers as finalists from 22 cities in 15 states, the final day saw the toppers showcase their brief recitals along with a few other brilliant contestants who topped at the state level.
As one of the jury, this reporter was impressed by quite a few young talents who not only sang or played in perfect tune and rhythm, but have actually learnt the art of improvisation between two phrases, notes and beats. Also, there were some who have imbibed the distinct flavour of the gharanas they are being groomed into. A rare achievement in this era of distractions; and the credit goes to their gurus as well!
These highly promising performers, irrespective of their junior, middle, senior or Yuva Kalakar categories, are Anindya Mahata, Sahil Bhogale, Sameer Athreya, Purnesh Bhagwat, Arijit Roy, Krishnendu Samarth, Devashri Nawgharey, Bidisha Hazra, Amit Kumar Rath and little Anjali Gaekwad in vocals. In the tabla arena Ishaan Ghosh (Mumbai), Aarchik Banerjee and Abir Mukherjee (Kolkata) displayed amazing maturity.
One noticed that while Bengal, Maharashtra and Karnataka’s Dharwad region
dominated the scene, Delhi and Chandigarh put up a brave and commendable show. But Uttar Pradesh, the North-east and even Odisha lagged way behind. The latter, despite having extremely talented voices, needs proper guidance in
khayal singing. This is very different from ghazals or the swaying nuances of Odissi music. 
The platform and encouragement provided by Sangeet Milon is definitely going to be very beneficial for them; especially for Lucknow. Once upon a time Lucknow, as the capital of Awadh, used to be the epicentre of Hindustani tehzeeb (culture) replete with its nafaasat (finesse) and nazaaqat (delicacy) but not anymore. Except for the oft-quoted grandeur of Shaam-e-Awadh and Subah-e-Benares nothing bears testimony to the long history of flourishing classical music in this region.
While listening to them, one wondered what had sparked this hugely successful extravaganza and that too in this now musically barren region! The answer came from Arundhati Chowdhury and her revered Master-moshay Milon Debnath, the life-force behind the movement to save classical ragas. One gathered that Chowdhury came to Lucknow in the 1980s with high hopes of learning the rich cultural traditions of Awadh. 
Fortunately, she met her Mastermoshay. His single- minded dedication to teach the basics of ragas through compositions in a simple but effective manner impressed her and her gastroenterologist husband, whose mission is to make young students aware of ways and means to good health through his initiative in the form of Hope Foundation. 
Music is an essential part of one’s well-being, he believes. Together, they toyed with the idea of reviving the musical tradition of the city by inspiring school children with a talent-hunt show called “Classical Voice of Lucknow”.
One thing led to another and Sangeet Milon was formed in 2011 with a vision to promote classical music among addicts of film songs. The initial success in remote areas of UP (135 contestants) helped them graduate to the state level (350 participants) and finally a national level. “Classical Voice of India” now is a programme by way of which students of Hindustani classical music get a chance to showcase their talent on a national platform and in front of a panel of eminent judges. 
The contestants are encouraged to show their ability to handle slow and fast khayal compositions in any raga of their choice with proper enunciation and elaboration within the given time limit. Judges come forward with tips for further improvement and queries of the contestants are entertained whole-heartedly. Workshops between participants and renowned music experts are also organised.
Inspired by a huge demand from Kolkata, a tabla contest was introduced in 2015. This year more than a thousand contestants were evaluated in vocals and tabla. This year also saw an additional group between 25-29 years (Young Artists / Yuva Kalakaar group) to encourage former winners and youth in general who wish to realise their dreams by showcasing their performance.
   A competition of classical music at a pan-India level for the first time in Lucknow by a private organisation and the concept of involving educational institutions to target the student group was well appreciated by school authorities, parents and students alike. The fact that there was no entrance fees to the competition lent credibility to the event. The target was and is to reach out to the maximum number of schools, colleges, universities, music institutions and music gurus even in remote areas. The prize money given to the winners is distributed between the winners and their Gurus.
The Kolkata auditions in 2013 would not have been possible without the initial help from the ITC Sangeet Reseach Academy, and to translate all this into reality the main support came from the State Bank of India. Their exemplary initiative inspired others including airlines, hospitality experts and also the Sangeet Natak Akademi, Delhi and the Department of Cultural Affairs, UP, to name a few. While Arundhati, Dr Chowdhury and his Hope Team take care of the entire logistics, Milon Debnath remains focused on authentic bandishes, which show the way to the purity of ragas. 
Moreover, Sangeet Milon sees to it that the deserving get more opportunities to perform as Debnath remains in touch with keen learners all through. All this leads to a warm and invaluable musical bond.

Senior’s blessings
The 32nd annual classical music conference, organised by All India Music Festival at Ankur Hall in Kolkata, was blessed by Vidushi Dalia Rahut in more than one way. 
This unassuming veteran thumri exponent and a very successful Guru not only offered her recital (bol-banao ki thumri in khamaj, slow gat; bol-baant ki thumri in nat set to addha; khamaj tappa, kirwani dadra and bhairavi bhajan) but also encouraged one of her talented disciples Sohini Roy Chowdhury to sing khayal (raga maru bihag) and thumri (khamaj) during the course of this two-day spread, essentially focused on upcoming artistes. They were supported on the tabla by Pandit Sujit Saha and his worthy son, Surojit Saha.
Apart from young and talented musicians Vedantika Mukherjee (vocal) and Subhrangshu Bhattacharjee (sarod), there were Sibprasad Bhattacharya (sitar) and Punyabrata Sengupta (vocal) as the other participants in the conference.