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O Gaanewali
The Ghazal Edition
Performers
Entertaining the nobility of India, her life was different from the other women around her. She had financial independence, she could choose her patrons and partners, and most importantly, she was highly skilled at her art, her music!
Tawaifs and women performers were given a reputation, one that made their life difficult and tainted them as prostitutes and sex workers. Unfortunately, history doesn’t credit them enough for their most valuable contribution to Indian Culture, their Music! Even though they were known for Thumri, Dadra, other semiclassical forms like hori, jhoola, chaiti and so on, they were the first performers to set ghazals to tune and bring them to the performance space as a music genre. This performance will be tracing the evolution of this beautiful genre that gained popularity through the performance of Tawaifs and many other women performers over the years.
O Gaanewali invites you on a journey through the rich cultural heritage of Indian music, sharing fascinating stories and anecdotes as it introduces iconic forms like thumri, dadra, hori, chaiti, and ghazal, made famous by the legendary Tawaifs and the many talented women who followed in their footsteps
Created for lovers for Ghazal, this format explores a slightly later time period in the lives of these artists, taking the audience through a nostalgic musical journey. Expect to hear some evergreen Ghazals like Aye Muhobbat Tere Anjaam Pe Rona Aya, Hum Dekhenge, Woh Jo Hum Mein Tum Mein Qarar Tha, Mere Humnafas and more!
Supported by:
Performers
Avanti Patel
Avanti Patel is a hindustani classical, semi-classical vocalist, composer & playback singer. She holds an MA in Hindustani Classical Vocals from SNDT University and holds a BA in Sociology and Anthropology from St Xavier’s College, Mumbai.Currently receiving taaleem from Vidushi Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande of the Jaipur Atrauli Gharana. She is most recently seen on Indian Idol 10 in the top 9. Her aim has been to speak about relevant sociological issues, especially those related to Gender, in her performances.
Mallika Singh
Mallika Worked with several prominent theater practitioners such as Trishla Patel, Purva Naresh, Rajat Kapoor, Atul Kumar, Gagan Dev Riar, Raghav Dutt, Sujay Saple, to name a few. She recently appeared on screen in Mira Nair’s A Suitable Boy, She’s also seen in Made In Heaven on Amazon Prime, as well as Zoya Akhtar’s Gully Boy.
Meghana AT
Rutuja Lad
Rutuja has learnt from Gaanyogini Pandita Dhondutai Kulkarni from the Jaipur Atrauli Gharana for 12 years. Currently receiving taaleem from Vidushi, Dr. Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande and learning harmonium from Shri. Sudhir Nayak. A Psychology major from Ruparel College, she also holds an MA in Hindustani Classical Vocals from SNDT University, where she teaches as a visiting faculty member.
Apoorv Petkar
Disciple of Pandit Appasaheb Jalgaonkar and Pandit Mukund Petkar, Apoorv has performed as an accompanying artist with several noteworthy musicians. He’s multi-instrumentalist having proficiency over the Santoor, Vocal Music in addition to the Harmonium. Apoorva has performed as a composer and soloist in several venues nationally as well as internationally.
Akshay Jadhav
Akshay started his training in music at the tender age of 6, from his father, Shri Ashok B. Jadhav, following which he learnt from Pt. Ramswaroop Ratoniya and Mrs. Sangeeta Agnihotri. Further went on to learn from Pandit Suresh Talwalkar. Played alongside several artists like Pt. Ajay Pohankar, Vidushi Kalpana Zokarkar, Pt. Hemant Pendse, Pt. Ram Deshpande to name a few. He’s played for several Bollywood films like Tiger Zinda Hai and Kalank and worked with music directors like Pritam, Salim-Sulaiman, Vishal-Shekhar and Amaal Malik to name a few.
