Auditions for Shivaratri Festival to begin today

Auditions for emerging artists for the cultural evenings of the International Shivaratri Festival 2025 are set to take place from February 19 to 23 at the Table Tennis Hall in Paddal Ground, Mandi, at 11 am. This year, a new competition, “Voice of Shivaratri”, would be held to give budding singers a platform to showcase their talent. The competition would feature awards for the winner, best stage performer and most unique voice.

The president of the Cultural Program Committee for the festival and Mandi Additional Deputy Commissioner, Rohit Rathour said the competition would allow singers to perform in a range of genres, including Bollywood, folk, indie, classical and fusion. He said singers must be at least 16 years old by January 1, 2025 and participants from all districts of the state and beyond are welcome. Only solo performances are allowed; duet or group performances are excluded.

Rathour said interested candidates apply online through the official Google form or offline at the Mandi District Development Office (Rural Development). He said required documents include an Aadhaar card or equivalent valid ID, a birth certificate and a recent passport-sized photograph. The deadline for registration is February 18, 2025, by 5.00 pm. He added late applications would not be accepted.

Those who have already registered do not need to reapply. A list of applicants would be available on the official Mandi District website or the Facebook pages of the District Commissioner and District Public Relations Officer.

Rathour said the auditions for “Voice of Shivaratri” would run alongside the cultural evening auditions. Only those who participate in the first round would be eligible for the next phase of the competition. Participants can choose any song for the audition; however, objectionable content would be prohibited.

In the final round, contestants would perform three songs: a Bollywood or indie song, a folk or devotional piece (including Sufi, bhajan or semi-classical) and a fusion or classical song. The final competition would take place on March 4 at 4.30 pm at Seri Stage during the closing cultural evening of the festival, with the winner announced the same day. Cash prizes would be awarded to the top three winners and consolation prizes would be given to the remaining finalists.

Rathour added other participants in the first-round auditions would be selected for the cultural evenings based on their performance and scores. They would be informed by phone.