Pune all set to rock at Gaaja Baaja

WHAT's ON gives you the lowdown on Gaaja Baaja the musical extravaganza in town. Debarati Palit tells you about the events you can't afford to miss

Sound of music
WHAT's ON gives you the lowdown on Gaaja Baaja the musical extravaganza in town. Debarati Palit tells you about the events you can't afford to miss

Jazz Photo exhibition

The exhibition displays the collection of

, a journalist by profession, who works with a Mumbai-based magazine. He has been collecting pictures for the last 15 years.
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What are the highlights of this photo exhibition?
Fernandes: The exhibition will showcase Indian musicians who have contributed to Jazz music. In 1920, Jazz was just entering India, but by 1930, Indians had starting becoming Jazz musicians and singers. Its amazing to see how quickly the people adopted the music. Lots of people learn jazz to perform with recording orchestras and no one knows about them, as they live in a shell and are cut off from the world. Did you know that singers like C Ram Chandra and Shankar Jaikishen were also recording jazz music? This exhibition will present such faces to music lovers. I spent time gathering information and tracing the link between new Jazz entrants and Bollywood.u00a0u00a0

It sounds like a lot of hard work. Did you enjoy doing this?
Fernandes: It's true that a lot of hard work has gone into it, as tracing such musicians and their work was not an easy task. Some musicians are dead and their children have emigrated. Tracking them and retrievingu00a0 prints of photographs was very difficult.

What do you think of such festivals?
Fernandes: Today, Bollywood music is an overwhelming force in our lives and we are not open to any other genre of music. There are many other things happening in the country, as far as music goes, of which we are not even aware of. This is a great platform to bring them upfront.u00a0

Documentary film screening
Amitabh Chakraborty's Bishar Blues, which won three National Awards, will be screened at the festival.

Tell us more about your film.
Chakraborty: The film revolves around the cult of Fakirs, who are followers of Islam and consider all human beings as one. Today, we have misplaced notions of Islamic regression and aggression. But, factually, they are people who believe in very different ideologies.

Was there a reason why you focused on the Fakirs of Bengal?
Chakraborty: Some of my friends interacted with them and learned some amazing stuff. When I thought of making a film on them, I started off with their music. I gradually came to learn more about their ideologies.

Tell us about the research you did for the film.
Chakraborty: I travelled extensively to four areas of Bengal. While staying there, I studied their lifestyle closely and got to know them better.u00a0

Music Performance
Manjusha Kulkarni Patil, a classical singer by profession, started singing at the tender age of 12. Prachi Dublay started her career 12 years ago and is a semi-classical and folk singer. Both will perform at the fest.

What are the highlights of your performance?
Patil: I am singing Thumpa and Hori (semi-classical music) from the JinJoti raag.u00a0
Dublay: I am singing two old songs composed by Shubha Mudgal. One is a ghazal by Bahadur Shah Jaffar and the other is by Wali Gujrati.

What are expecting from the audience?
Patil: Puneites are major critics, as they appreciate only good music. I am sure people will enjoy the variety of music on offer at Gaaja Baaja.
Dublay: I am certain that this kind of music will get a wonderful response. We are presenting thumris, tappas and ghazals, some of which are 100 years old.

Will this festival reach out to a wide audience?
Patil: If you provide good music at zero cost, why shouldn't people turn up?
Dublay: Indian classical music forms only 3% of the entire Indian music fraternity. When you are covering such a wide range of topics, it will naturally draw the attention of people.

Day 1 event schedule >>
10 am to 11 am
>> Inauguration by Gulzar and opening remarks by Musicologist Dr Ashok Ranade

11 am to 8 pm
>> Jazz Photography Exhibition and Hindustani Classical music recital

11 am to 1 pm
>> Seminar on insurance and financial strategies for musicians by BS Shashidar
>> Seminar on Music and Media by Amit Gurbaxani, Radhika Bordia and Arjun S Raviu00a0

2 pm to 4 pm
>> Screening of Bishar Blues - a film about the Fakirs of West Bengal

7 pm to 9.30 pm
>> Musical performances by Manjusha Kulkarni Patil, Anuradha Kuber and Prachi Dublay

At: Ishanya Amphitheatre, Airport Road, Yerwada.
From February 6 to February 8
Passes available at: Oceanic Music shop, Camp; DVD Express, FC Road, Aundh; Ishanya box office, Yerwada. Entry: Free

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