Zip down to Pune this weekend for a musically sound three-day extravaganza at Baajaa Gaajaa 2011, which is being organised by Aneesh Pradhan and Shubha Mudgal
Zip down to Pune this weekend for a musically sound three-day extravaganza at Baajaa Gaajaa 2011, which is being organised by Aneesh Pradhan and Shubha Mudgal
How often does one get the chance to witness an advocate-cum-classical pianist, a Dangi musician from Gujarat, an Australian percussion band and Indie Rock bands perform at the same music festival? Unless you are a globetrotting music-oholic, we might be correct in guessing that the answer is a meek 'never'. 
The exhaustive schedule of events at the music festival Baajaa Gaajaa 2011 might just help you rectify your answer this year.
Baajaa Gaaja 2011 will have three performance spaces -- Jalsaghar (for Classical music -- Hindustani and Western), Aangan (for World Music) and the Amphitheatre (for the headlining gigs).
While the performances at the Amphitheatre will be the obvious crowd-pullers, we suggest you check out the other venues for performances like Antakshari of Hindustani Classical music, which will feature Bandishes and the percussion concert -- Circle of Rhythm. "The idea of the festival is to project the diversity of Indian music and culture which is under threat because of the constant homogenisation. We want people across musical forms to meet and interact in a non-hierarchical manner," says Aneesh Pradhan, who has been organising the festival for the past three years along with vocalist Shubha Mudgal.
The festival will not only have musical performances from unheard of musicians --Shahir Azad Naikawadi will perform folk music of Maharashtra, Somabhai Pawar and group will perform tribal music from Gujarat -- but also lectures, seminars, film screenings, as well as an expo area with stalls featuring record labels and stores selling musical instruments.
"We'll have a workshop on a Sitar is made by a Tanpura maker from Miraj, who belongs to the seventh generation of a family of Tanpura makers," says Pradhan. Other workshops to look out for are the Body Percussion and Rhythm workshop for children by Australian musicians Bobby Singh, Ben Walsh and Greg Sheehan and the Music to Machine Workshop by Ronak Shodhan from Ahmedabad.
The colossal schedule also makes one realise what a tough task it must be to organise the three-day festival. Pradhan lets out a long sigh in reply to this question before nodding in agreement. "It's difficult getting the entire festival together. The festival has such a fantastic vibe but we need sponsorship to keep it going. The last thing we'd like to do is ask musicians to perform for free," he says.
Gigs at Baajaa Gaajaa 2011
Feb 4 - 7 pm -10 pm - Chordial Relations featuring Papon and the East India Company, Niladri Kumar (sitar), Satyajit Talwalkar (tabla) in collaboration with Juan Diego (flamenco guitar), Israel Katumba Mera (percussion)
Feb 5 - 7 pm -10 pm - Stories in a Song: A Musical Collage of Theatre, Literature and History, directed by Sunil Shanbag
Feb 6 - 7 pm -10 pm - Neh Boliyaan - Hariharan (Urdu ghazal, nazm and allied forms) Suresh Wadkar (Marathi ghazal and allied forms)
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Till February 6 at Ishanya, opposite. Golf Course, off Airport Road, Yerawada, Pune. Entry: Free
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