The Sankat Mochan Sangeet Samaroh is a unique music festival in many ways. The festival itself is held inside one of Banaras’s best loved temples, said to have been established by Goswami Tulsidas himself.
The tradition of holding an annual music festival at the Hanuman temple, Sankat Mochan in Banaras is definitely more than 70 years old, some say 90 years, though there are no exact records available. The festival is a celebration of Hanuman Jayanti, based on the lunar calendar so the dates vary from year to year, said temple Mahant Shri Vishwambhar Nath Mishraji
What is unique to this festival is the faith associated with the festival – every artiste invited to perform does so as an offering to master musician Hanuman – to seek his blessings. The concert is regarded as an offering – a “haazari” which literally translates to formal presence in the court of the ruler or divine. Many a musical career is said to have soared after a concert at the Sankat Mochan. Bharat Ratna Ustad Bismillah Khan frequently said that the “taseer” in his music came from the riyaaz he used to do daily in the temple precincts in his early years.
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Perhaps it is this spirit that imbues the festival with its informal, easy going air, like the festivals of a former era. Another unusual feature is the timings – there are six all-night sessions, exceeding even the Dover Lane festival in Calcutta. In Banaras it’s common to squeeze in nine artists in one night! No dhrupad recitals are included as the temple management holds an annual special Dhrupad festival in February, but despite being essentially a classical music festival, there are also dances and occasionally devotional folk music concerts.
Another unique feature in the current age of religious intolerance is the harmonious mingling of religious faiths. Muslim artists perform haazari at the festival which is held inside the temple precincts with great devotion. Previous festivals have included performances by Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Ustad Nishat Khan, and even ghazal king Ustad Ghulam Ali from Pakistan.
However more than the concerts, it is the air of festivity that surrounds the entire venue. There are TV screens and loudspeakers all over the temple complex so the concerts are heard and seen from several spots – the roof above the “stage”; to the left outside the temple doors; beyond the temple near the parking area…. It is quite usual to see the people doss down for a couple of hours, then be poked awake by their friends to hear the next recital! Boxes of victuals are handed around to sustain energies, VIPS are treated to temple “prasad” (an euphemism for a superb thali meal) at midnight, tea in mud “kulhars” are handed around.
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Temple Mahant Shri Vishwabhar Nath Mishra said the increase in the gathering at the event is proof of its popularity. Still not a rupee is charged from the audience for this magnificent musical extravaganza.
This year, there will be more than 40 concerts. And the palette of artists include Pandit Jasraj, Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Ustad Ashish Khan, Pandit Rajan Sajan Mishra, Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Kaushiki Chakravorty, Niladri Kumar, Purbayan Chatterji and Anup Jalota,
Tabla, which is hugely important and popular in Banaras, is represented by jugalbandis and solos by Pandit Suresh Talwalkar, Pandit Anindo Chatterji, Pandit Kumar Bose, Sivamani, Pandit Sanju Sahay and Anuvrata Chatterji.
The Carnatic musicians performing are equally impressive and include – L Subramanium, Mandolin U. Rajesh, Shashank, Kadri Gopalnath, Sheshagopalan, and Yella Venkateshwara Rao. Dance is not neglected and there is Mohiniattam by Mom Ganguly, Bharatanatyam by P T Narendran, Odissi by Ratikant Mohapatra and Kathak by Saurav Gaurav Mishra.
(Sankat Mochan Sangeet Samaroh begins on 26th April)