26 November,2017 09:17 AM IST | Mumbai | Nasrin Modak Siddiqi
Pay a tribute to lyricists — the unsung heroes of the music world — by attending a first-of-its-kind concert
The fourth edition of the Ajivasan Fest is a special one. For the first time, an entire festival is being dedicated to the iconic lyricists in the Hindi film industry - a rare concept for a music festival, which are usually dedicated only to singers. Besides honouring past icons like Sahir Ludhianvi and Anand Bakshi; living legends like Gulzar, Javed Akhtar, Kausar Munir and Prasoon Joshi amongst others will be commemorated for the magic they weave with their words. Organised by Suresh Wadkar's music academy, Ajivasan, this one is an initiative by his wife Padma Wadkar. "Our academy has an enormous pool of talent and the idea behind the fest was to motivate the best of our students by dedicating an evening to the stalwarts of the music industry. We have also invited other legendary artists, so that our students get to perform before them and get their blessings too," Wadkar says.
Wadkar has always advised his students to become overall musicians and for him, paying a tribute to the lyricists of our music industry is an important step towards that. "My guruji, Acharya Jiajal Vasant, was a refined lyricist and since childhood, I have been observing the importance of lyrics in music," he adds. Wadkar does feel that lyricists are the unsung heroes of the music industry. "Having said that, compared to the yesteryears, I believe that now there are many awards and platforms that have started recognising and crediting lyricists too. Our effort is to take these recognitions to another level," he concludes. Among the lyricists who will be honoured this year are Amitabh Bhattacharya of Dev D fame, Irshad Kamil of Rockstar, Javed Akhtar and Gulzar, to name a few. "A lot of thought and filtering goes behind making it a perfect evening for all," Wadkar adds.
Where: Suresh Wadkar's Ajivasan, Next to SNDT College, Juhu Road
When: November 30, 6:30 PM
Entry: Rs.150