Unsung Kishori Amonkar

Pandit Raghunandan Panshikar is one of the leading vocalists in India today. He is the son of Thespian Prabhakar Panshikar. Having begun his training under Shri Vasantrao Kulkarni, he subsequently spent twenty years under the tutelage of one of India’s most respected musicians, Gaansaraswati Kishori Amonkar ji. He has performed in several reputed platforms in India including Sawai Gandharva Mahotsav (Pune), Dover Lane Conference (Kolkata), Hari Vallabh (Chandigarh), Tansen Samaroh (Gwalior) and Kesarbai Kerkar Sangeet Samaroh (Goa). His music has enthralled listeners abroad as well. He has performed extensively in the US, UK, Singapore and Dubai.

For his contributions in the field of Indian classical music, he has been honoured with several awards including Smt.Manik Verma Puraskar (Pune), Sangeet Kala Ratna Puraskar (Patna), Prabha Atre Gaurav Puraskar and Pt. Ramkrishnabua Vaze Puraskar. For the past seven years, he has been organising a 3-day music festival in Pune in honour of his Guru titled ‘Gaansaraswati Mahotsav’. For the first few years, Kishoritai herself performed at this event. Since her demise, musicians from all over the country including Ustad Zakir Hussien, Pt. Rajan Sajan Mishra, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and many others continue to perform at this much awaited event year after year.

Gurumurthy Vaidya, fondly called “Tabla Guru” is one of the leading musicians in the world of rhythm. He belongs to the rich traditions of Ustad Ahmed Jan Tirakhwa Saheb. Born into a musically inclined family, Gurumurthy hails from the culturally rich belt in the Western Ghats of Karnataka called Yallapura. At a tender age, Gurumurthy showed a keen interest in music. Gurumurthy remembers his childhood of trying to understand the complex rhythmic patterns of Yakshagana. He started his initial lessons in Classical Tabla from Pandit G G Hegde, Yallapura, and later went on to get additional training from the well-known Pandit Basavaraj Bendigere of Dharwad. Later became a disciple of legendary master Pandit Ravindra Yavagal and continues to take guidance from the master.

Ashwin S Walawalkar is an ardent disciple of renowned Santoor Maestro Padmashree Pt. Satish C Vyas. Looking at Ashwin’s passion for instrumental music, his father and Guru Pt.Shriram Walawalkar, inducted him to practice both Santoor and Harmonium. Ashwin, the dedicated disciple that he is, mastered the intricate and subtle facets of performing on both the Harmonium and Santoor. Ashwin has also composed lyrics and worked as a music director in several non-Film and Devotional Albums. He is graded “B High” in Santoor and Harmonium on All India Radio. He has given numerous Santoor concerts at Mumbai, Pune, Trivandrum, Bangalore and Chandigarh. He has even performed in Mauritius, Nigeria, the Middle-east, Europe and South Africa.

Radhika Joshi is a young and promising Hindustani classical vocalist of the Jaipur Atrauli Gharana. She is a disciple of Pt. Raghunandan Panshikar, a reknowned vocalist and disciple of Gaansaraswati Kishori Amonkar. Over the past few years, Radhika has presented her music at several music festivals in India as well as abroad. Some of these include Ustad Abdul Karim Khan Smriti Samiti (Miraj), Dadar Matunga Cultural Center (Mumbai), Sangit Kala Mandir (Kolkata), Gayan Sabha (Mysore), Sur Sagar (Bangalore), Sangeet Sankalp – Saptak (Ahmedabad), Pt. Bundi Maharaj Charitable Soceity (Benaras), Bangalore International Centre and Chhandayan Center (New York). Radhika has been felicitated with several awards including the first prize in Jod-Raga Spardha awarded by Sangeet Bhooshan Pt. Ram Marathe Foundation.