The Aditya Vikram Birla Kalashikar & Kalakiran Puraskars 2013

The Aditya Vikram Birla Kalashikar & Kalakiran Puraskars 2013

            The prestigious Aditya Vikram Birla Kalashikar & Kalakiran Puraskars 2013 for excellence in “Hindustan Classical Vocal” will be held this year on 13^th November at Tata Theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point, 6pm onwards. 

 Amongst the illustrious winners this year are Dr. Girija Devi for life time achievement in Hindustani Classical Vocal and Smt Kaushiki Chakrabarty, Smt Gauri Pathare and Smt Yashaswi Sirpotdar for being most promising Hindustani Classical Vocal artists. The awards would be presented by His Excellency Honorable Shri K. Sankaranarayan, Chief Minister of Maharashtra. The award function will be followed by Swar Sandhya, Jashn-E-Bahaara by Javed Ali.

            Sangit Kala Kendra (SKK) was founded in 1973 by Late Shri Aditya Vikram Birla to encourage and nurture the various performing arts. Since its inception the Kendra has been presenting prestigious art events and thereby has acquired recognition as one of the premier cultural instructions of the country.

SKK instituted in the year 1996, the “Aditya Vikram Birla Kalashikhar Puraskar” in memory of its founder President. This award is conferred on as artist in the visual or performing arts for lifetime achievement and comprises a cash award of Rupees two Lacs, a memento and scroll honour. This year, that is 2013, it is proposed to present the award in the field of “Hindustani Classical Vocal”. It will be awarded to a living, senior, and reputed artist.

In addition to the above, awards of the “Aditya Birla Kalakiran Purakar” would be presented to two young artist in the above field. The artist should be citizens of India, between the age of 25 to 40 years, and have a promising future. The puraskar comprises a cash award of Rupees Fifty Thousand only, a memento and a scroll of honour.

            In the recent past, Pandit Jasraj, M F Hussain, Lata Mangeshkar, Padit kelucharan Mohapatra have been proud recipients of the Kalashikhar Puraskar. This year the event will be graced by the presence of Rajashree Birla, Kumar Mangalam Birla and Neerja Birla. 

DR. GIRIJA DEVI

Dr Girija Devi considered as "Queen Of Thumri" ,is a renowned classical singer of the Banaras Gharana.

Born in  Varanasi in 1929, she started taking lessons in singing Khayal and Tappa from vocalist and Sarangi player Sarju Prasad Misra, at the tender age of five. At the age of 9 she acted in the film called Yaad Rahe, whilst she continued her musical studies under Sri Chand Misra.

Girija Devi performs the Purabi ang Thumri style and her repertoire includes the semi-classical genres like Kajri, Chaiti, Dadra, Holi, Bhajan  etc

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians mentions that her semi-classical singing is a fine blend of  her classical training with the regional characteristics of the songs of Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh.

She made her public debut 1949 on All India Radio, Allahabad  and gave her first public concert in Bihar in 1951.  She has contributed immensely to the Guru -Shishya parampara she has been    a faculty member of the ITC Sangeet Research Academy in Kolkata in the 1980’s and the Banaras Hindu University during the early 1990’s,she presently continues to teach at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy,Kokatta.

Under the  "Girija Devi Trust" she extends scholarship to the less fortunate students and felicitates  elderly  educated and accomplished ladies with an award.

Conferred with the D. Lit. by Bengal College of Science and Engineering by the President of India, Girija Devi has received many awards and accolades She was bestowed with the Padma Shri in 1972 and the Padma Bhushan in 1989. She has been conferred the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1977, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship in 2010. The Lifetime Achievement Award by Govt. of India,and the Chevrolet GIMA Lifetime Achievement Award,both  in 2012.

The press all over India and Abroad have eulogized her solo performances. For the younger generation, she is an ideal performer, musicologist, and a great Guru.

Gauri’s interest in Hindustaani classical vocal music was aroused by listening to her mother, Dr Vidya Damle. Under the watchful eye of her gurus, Smt. Madhuri Joshi and Pandit Gangadharbuwa Pimpalkhare of the Kirana Gharana, Gauri delved deep into the spiritual essence of India classical music to blossom into a musical genius.

She continued to take talim for many years initially from late Padmashree Pt. Jitendra Abhisheki and thereafter from Pandita Padma Talwalkar. This training enriched her gayaki of the Jaipur, Gwalior and Kirana gharanas.

Gauri Pathare holds a degree in Computer Science from the University of Pune and a Diploma in IT from NIIT. Her maiden releases of albums like Morning Melodies, Evening Melodies ,Emotions,  Sangeetika have been applauded by the Indian music industry. Her solo recitals have enthralled her fans both in India and abroad.

Her various accolades include the most prestigious Smt. Kesarbai Kerkar scholarship conferred by the NCPA in 1999-2000, the Pandit Sitaram Dixit Puraskaar for light classical vocal in 2002, the Smt. Yamunadevi Shahane Puraskar for vocal classical in 2003, the Surmani Puraskar in 2006, the Pt. Ramkrishnabuwa Vaze Yuwa Gayak Puraskar in 2007.  In 2012 she received the most prestigious “Swara-bhaskar Puraskar' instituted in memory of late Pandit Bhimsen Joshi.

Now 33, Yashaswi Sirpotdar surprised her family, when as a toddler, she began running her tiny fingers over the keys of her grandmother’s harmonium. She displayed such a good sense of melody that she gave her first harmonium recital at the age of two-and-a-half.

Yashaswi  Sirpotdar nee Sathe, began training with noted Jaipur and Gwalior gharana singer Padma Talwalkar at the age of nine  and accompanied her for more than 12 years at her concerts.

Her firm grasp over fundamental ragas is remarkably displayed when she sings her smooth unceasing Alaaps before foraying into the upper Octave. She excels in singing Siddha,the evergreen Raagas.

Having performed in many music circles all over the country, Yashaswi is making great strides as a mature vocalist of Hindustani Classical Music

Yashaswi has been a recipient of many awards and accolades, prominent among them are the CHHATRA GANDHARV PURASKAR, by the Govt of Maharashtra, the SUR MANI award by Sur Singar Samsad, Mumbai and the PAINGANKAR SMRITI AWARD by Pt Jaraj Mitra Mandal, Pune

 

Kaushiki Chakrabarty,  daughter of  Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty, is a child prodigy. At the age  12, she was a scholar at the ITC SRA, at 14, she was on a 50-concert tour in the US with her father and guru, at 16, she gave  her first solo concert in Delhi and by her early twenties she was being hailed as the brightest young female vocalist of her generation. 

Kaushiki has had the privilege of performing in every major Hindustani music festival in India like the Dover Lane Music Conference, the Sawai Gandharva Sangeet Mahotsava, the Tansen Samaroh , the Harvhallab Sangeet Sammelan and the Saptak festival in Ahmedabad.

Kaushiki began her training under her mother Chandana Chakrabarty. Subsequently, she learnt from the legendary Pandit Jnan Prakash Ghosh, before becoming a disciple of her father, vocal maestro Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty, under whom she continues to learn.

She is adept at singing other ‘light classical’ genres like thumri, dadra, kajri, chaiti, bhajan etc.  Her emotionally charged improvisations in thumris are as powerful as her supersonic taans . She is one of the foremost representatives of the Patiala Gharana today and  forged a gayaki style  that is distinctively her own.

She has  shared album space with   Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and Lata Mangeshkar,and  has lent her voice to  film soundtracks like Water, Chaplin, Chitrangada, and Panch Adhyay .

Kaushiki has received several prestigious awards, including the, the BBC award for Outstanding Achievement in 2005, the GIMA award for her album ‘Yatra 2’ and the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Purashkar , both  in 2012..