A three-day music festival to mark the 16th death anniversary of legendary Hindustani classical vocalist Dr. Mallikarjun Mansur begins on Friday at Dr. Mallikarjun Mansur Kalabhavan in Dharwad. The festival is organized by Dr. Mallikarjun Mansur National Memorial Trust.
Sarod exponent Pandit Braj Narayana of Mumbai, vocalists Pandit Ajay Chakravarti of Kolkata, Raghunandan Panasikar of Pune and Rajashekhar Mansur, son of Pandit Mansur, will perform during the festival. The performances will begin at 6 p.m. daily.
The other artistes participating in the festival are Jayadevi Jangamashetty (Vocals), Maruti Bhajantri (Shehnai), Shamir L. Rao (Bansuri), vocalists Vaishnavi Hanagal, Kaushik Aital, D. Kumaradas and Balachandra Nakod.
Mallikarjun Mansur was born on December 31, 1910 in a village in Dharwad district of Karnataka. At the age of nine, he played a small part in a play which encouraged him to join a touring drama troupe. During a performance, Pandit Neelkantbuwa Jangam, a disciple of renowned exponent of the Gwalior gharana Pandit Balakrishnabuwa Ichalkaranjikar, recognized his potential. Then young Mallikarjun was taken to Meeraj and put through a grueling schedule of gurukul training. At the age of 18, he emerged to perform at many concerts.
The most memorable among his early concerts was the Ganesha Utsav concert in Mumbai, in which he sang for over six hours. He used perform regularly on radio and television apart from participating in numerous music conferences. He was the director of HMV for a few years and later joined Dharwad radio station as music director. His musical excellence earned him the “Kalidas Samman”, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, the Padmashree, the Padmabhushan and several other titles. Struck by lung cancer, the end came on Saturday September 12, 1992.
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