A music festival will mark the 70th birthday celebrations of Pandit Ganapati Bhat Hasanagi in Dharwad on Sunday.
Addressing presspersons in Dharwad on Friday, musician and organiser of the event Sripad Hegde said that the one-day music festival will be held at Srujana Rangamandir on Karnatak College campus in Dharwad.
Pt. Ganapati Bhat Hasanagi is proficient in both the Gwalior and Kirana Gharana style of music and is credited with popularising Hindustani music in Uttara Kannada. At present, he is serving as a guru at Dr. Gangubai Hangal Gurukul, in Hubballi.
The music festival will be inaugurated by Hindustani vocalist Pandit Vinayak Torvi and the former MLA Chandrakanth Bellad at 9.45 a.m. on Sunday.
Musicians Radhika Sudharshan, Chinmay Desai, Jeevan Patil, Medha Bhat, Vinayak Hegde, Shridhar Mandre, Satish Bhat, Srihari Diggavi, Sarang Kulkarni and Gururprasad Hegde will perform during the festival.
At 6.30 p.m., there will be felicitations to Pt. Hasanagi followed by his concert. Pt. Raghunath Nakod and Satish Bhat Heggaru will accompany him on tabla and harmonium.