Hindustani Vocal Recital – Khayal Sangeet
Pandit Sanjeev Abhyankar, the maestro from the Mewati Gharana, is an artist of international acclaim in the field of Hindustani Classical Music and devotional music. An extremely popular artist, he is the inspiration for the young generation. Blessed with an exceptionally sweet voice, his vocation in life was clear right from the age of 3. Born in 1969, Sanjeev started learning Hindustani Classical Music, from the tender age of eight. He has been groomed by his mother Smt. Shobha Abhyankar, Pandit Pimpalkhare ji and Padmavibhushan Pandit Jasraj ji. Though his aim had been to pursue a career in music since childhood, he has acquired a bachelor’s Degree in Commerce. Sanjeev rendered his first stage performance in Mumbai, at the age of 11. Since then, he has traveled extensively all over India, performing in all the prestigious conferences and art circles, several times. He has spread the fragrance of Indian Classical music in USA, Canada, Australia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. He has received many awards which include the President’s award from the All India Radio in 1990, the prestigious F. I. E. Foundation National Award 1996, The coveted National Award 1998 as the best male playback singer, for the Hindi film ‘Godmother’, the title ‘Sur Ratna’, Rotary Vocational Excellence Award 2002 and Pandit Jasraj Gaurav Puraskar, to name a few. He has also given playback for films such as ‘ Maachis’, ‘Nidaan’, ‘Sanshodhan’ , ‘Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar’ and ‘Banaras’.
Tanmay Deochake is a renowned harmonium performer in the Indian classical industry. He was born in a family of musicians in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. He started imbibing ‘sangeet sanskar’ from the tender age of four. He learned and practiced the harmonium and keyboard under the expert guidance of his grandfather, Gopalrao Deochake and his father, Abhay Deochake. Tanmay came to Pune to make a career in music. His first step towards success was accepting an admission in Lalit Kala Kendra followed by taking teachings from Pt. Pramod Marathe. He also honed his skills in a traditional ‘Gurukul’ format at Gandharva Mahavidyalaya. Tanmay Deochake continues to enhance his knowledge as a musician and harmonium artist even today, under the guidance of Taalyogi Pt. Suresh Talwalkar and Padmashri. Ulhas Kashalkar. He has accompanied many established and famed artists like Ustad Zakir Hussain, Gansaraswati Kishoritai Amonkar, Pt. Ulhas Kashalkar, Taalyogi Pt. Suresh Talwalkar, Pt. Swapan Chaudhari, Pt. Ajay Chakrabarty, Pt. Kumar Bose, Pt. Anindo Chatterjee, Pt. Nayan Ghosh, Ustad Rashid Khan, Pt. Sanjeev Abhyankar, Smt. Ashwini Bhide Deshpande, Smt. Devki Pandit, Smt. Aarti Ankalikar, Pt. Raghunandan Panshikar, Pt. Yogesh Samsi, Pt. Vijay Ghate, Pt. Ramdas Palsule, Ustad Sukhvinder Singh, Ustad Taufiq Qureshi, Ustad Fazal Qureshi, Smt. Kaushiki Chakrabarty, Pt. Saunak Abhisheki, Smt. Manjusha Patil Kulkarni, Smt. Manjiri Asnare Kelkar, Pt. Jayteerth Mevundi, Shri Rahul Deshpande, Shri Satyajit Talwalkar for national and international performances. Tanmay is also an emerging solo harmonium artist. He is also a teacher to many. His students come from varied backgrounds and countries like England, USA and Canada. With his real time, online sessions he is able to impart his knowledge to many.
Ajinkya Joshi started his initial training in music at the age of seven from Shantilal Shah, one of the senior disciples of well-known tabla player Pt. Suresh Talwalkar. At the age of sixteen, Ajinkya moved to Mumbai and underwent intensive training in tabla for more than ten years from Pt. Suresh Talwalkar. Ajinkya is the recipient of the Vishnu Digambar Paluskar Award (1999). He has accompanied his guru in various tabla solo concerts all over India. He has been awarded the National Scholarship for young artistes by the Government of India. He has accompanied various artists in India and has also toured Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Canada and USA for concerts.