Music lovers rue discordant notes by politicians

Aparna Banerji

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, December 28

Visits by politicians to the Shri Baba Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan may be steady, but financial support has been dipping.

In the past two days, the sammelan managed to gather a mere Rs 10 lakh as donation by politicians, said a music enthusiast.

While the state Cultural Affairs Minister Sohan Singh Thandal announced Rs 10 lakh for the sammelan, Education Minister Daljit Singh Cheema gave the event a miss, said another music lover. So far the sammelan has been attended by only two BJP ministers and a cabinet minister of the SAD.

While in the past years, Rs 20 to 30 lakh was given by ministers and government functionaries, this year, not even half the amount has trickled in, he said.

On the second day of Shri Baba Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan on Saturday night, the audience was enthralled by strains from Nishat Khan’s sitar.

While Khan’s performance was the final performance of the day accompanied by charming tabla virtuoso Ram Kumar Mishra, earlier in the day, performances of santoor maestro Taurn Bhattacharya and vocalist Ruchira Panda were also applauded.

Bhattachrya, was accompanied by Abhjit Banerji on the tabla, with whom he indulged in playful instrumental ‘sawal jawabs’.

While the evening had begun with the vocals from Aniruddha Bahttacharya, later, vocalist Ruchira Panda’s mellow, thick voice too wooed the audience.