It's that time of the year once again when celebrated musicians from different parts of the country make their way to Pune to pay their tribute to Pandit Vasantrao, the doyen of Indian classical music. This year Vasantotsav that is scheduled from February 8 to 10, will see participants not just from India but also from across the border.

Organised in the memory of Late Dr Vasantrao Deshpande by Dr Vasantrao Deshpande Pratishthan the three-day festival will be held at Ramanbaug High School from 5.30 to 10.00 pm.

"Vasantrao has been a steering element in earlier phase of my life and career and by being apart of this festival, I intend to pay reverence to him," said Nana Patekar who is organizing the festival with Rahul Deshpande, Vasantrao's grand-son.

This year is the 25th death anniversary of Dr Vasantrao Deshpande and to commemorate this occasion, the Pratishthan has kept World Music as its theme in view of the fact that Vasantrao appreciated all genres of music and believed that music transcends all boundaries. Lending credence to this will be the presence and performances of Pakistani artists Ghulam Ali and Begum Abida Parveen who would be there for the festival.

"This year we will include Indian classical music, Carnatic music, Sufi Music and fusion. Eventually we want to integrate world music through this festival", said Rahul Deshpande. Well-known set designer of Bollywood, Nitin Desai will design the stage for the show while Patekar will be hosting the festival.

"Punekars will definitely give a good response to this show," said Patekar even as he revealed that this year the Pratishthan will also felicitate four senior artists from the field of Indian classical music with a award and a citation. Ticket sales will commence in the last week of January.

Watch out for
The Festival will begin with Rahul Deshpande's performance followed by a fusion performance by Ustad Zakir Hussian, Shankar Mahadevan, A Sivamani and U Shrinivas. The second day will witness performances by Carnatic Music vocalist Dr L Subramaniam and Sufi Singer Begum Abida Parveen. On the third day the festival will conclude with the performances of Ghulam Ali and Kishori Amonkar.

Source: http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Music-across-boundaries/260099/