Padma award-winners and other popular artistes to perform at 3-day festival
The three-day Somnath Festival of Dance and Music is due to begin on Monday. The festival will feature special performances by Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Vibhushan artists over three days, culminating in night-long programmes on Wednesday in honour of Maha Shivratri.
Curated by the Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited and IGNCA Regional Centre Vadodara, the festival aims to re-establish the temple’s ancient connection with music and dance.
A special exhibition on musical instru-ments, titled “Instruments-A Journey of Sound”, will be on display on all the three days. Seminars on the Somnath temple and its traditions will be held on the first two mornings. Another highlight of the festival is the “Sangam Aarti” at Triveni Sangam the confluence of three rivers namely Kapila, Hiran and Saraswati. Aarti with 108 diyas has been planned at the Triveni Sangam in the evening on all the three days.
Performers include Padma Bhushan Pandit Viswamohan Bhatt, Padma Vibhushan Dr Sonal Mansingh, Padma Vibhushan Kumudini Lakhia & Kadamb, Pandit Shivamani and Padma Shri Pandit Ronu Mazumdar, Padma Shri Rama Chandra Pulevazh, Vidushi Rama Vaidyanathan, Soorya Gayathri, Vidushi Sudha Raghuraman, Pandit Shashank Subramaniam, Pandit Bickram Ghosh, Atul Purohit, and others.