Preview: Baajaa Gaajaa 2012

The fourth edition of the Shubha Mudgal and Aneesh Pradhan curated music festival, Baajaa Gaajaa is set to kick off today, at Ishanya Mall in Pune. The festival is divided into two sections – musical performances and the music conclaves. The wide array of musicians slated to play the festival are from across the country, with the focus being on traditional and classical Indian music. Each of the evenings, across the three days, will see a concert at the magnificent, open-air Ishanya Amphitheater.

You can check out the entire schedule for the music performances here. The music conclaves will be held at Vivanta by Taj, Blue Diamond, in Koregaon Park and are invite only (schedule here).

The musical performances kick off at 11am every morning and go on till about 6pm every evening, before the concerts at the Amphitheater. Of the two Open Stages (I and II), Jalsaghar is dedicated solely to classical, Hindustani and folk music performances, whereas the Aangan will see performances that are more fusion, jazz, experimental and rock-centric.

Soulmate, PINKNOISE and Adil & Vasundhara will perform after the inauguration (attended by Javed Akhtar) at the Ishanya Amphitheater, for a show that is dedicated to Amit Saigal, titled ‘Songs For Papa Rock’.

Artists To Watch
Jalsaghar, February 11

1. Sanjoy Singh, Ranbir Singh, Sunder Singh, Neelachandra Singh will display the classical Manipuri dance forms Pung Cholom and Dholok Cholom from 11.45am to 12.15pm
2. Hari Bagade will be accompanied by Vinod Padge on the harmonium and pakhawaj, in a Hindustani classical performance from 5pm to 5.45pm
3. Santosh Sant and Amit Kavthekar (tabla), Ajay Joglekar (keyboard), Atonu Gautam (guitar) and Deepak Borkar (additional percussion) will perform a themed instrumental performance titled ‘Emotions’

Jalsaghar, February 12

1. Prachi Dublay will present a vocal performance, based on the adivasi music of Gujarat from 11.45am to 12.15pm
2. Aditya Khandwe, Sanjeev Chimmalgi, Hrishikesh Badwe, Aparna Kelkar, Hema Upasani, Archana Kanhere and Uttara Chousalkar are slated for a ‘musical game’ called Bandish Dangal from 3pm to 4.30pm
3. Shubha Joshi will present a Hindustani classical performance, which will essentially be thumris and ghazals, from 5.30pm to 6.15pm

Aangan, February 11

1. Drummer Ben Walsh will return to Baajaa Gaajaa this year, and will be performing with tabla player Bobby Singh in a presentation called the ‘Wheel of Life’.
2. Prateek Kuhad and Veer Singh Brar perform an acoustic pop-rock set from 3.45pm to 4.30pm

Aangan, February 12

1.  Joe Vessaokar and Band will be playing fado and mando, which is a genre of music from Goa, representing the folk music of the state. The band is slated to play their instrumental set from 11am to 11.30am
2. Multi-instrumentalist Dhruv Vishvanath plays an acoustic set from 3pm to 3.45pm

Amphitheater

1. After the great response to the ‘Stories In A Song’ performance the previous year, theatre veteran Sunil Shanbag returns with ‘More Stories In A Song’. The play is essentially a musical, representative of a collage of music, theatre and the arts in the country and is curated, researched by Shubha Mudgal and Aneesh Pradham themselves. The play kicks off at 7.30pm
2. The finale, titled ‘Dhamaal’, is a celebration of drumming and percussion, curated by Aneesh Pradhan. What makes it interesting is the ambience design which is done by designer Sabyasachi

More from Baajaa Gaajaa soon.

Baajaa Gaajaa 2012 Poster And Highlights

Check out our list of upcoming music festivals all this month and the next, here.