It happens and happened to me two times on 15th Oct, 2011. Sawai Gandharva Sangeet Mahavidyalaya was where music lovers from different parts of the country gathered to celebrate our love for music. I figured out why Pune is called cultural capital of Maharashtra. Music lovers descended in large numbers for the BBG meetup.
Coming back to the pause button. We had two special friends who came for the meetup. The first one was Pandit Rajendra Kandalgaonkar. We were blessed to have his company for our meetup. I will admit that classical music is not something which I have ever listened to much. Not even recorded, forget about live. Rajendra Sir blessed our stage by showing us a small glimpse of his skills. I was just blown away. I have never seen a guy striking so many notes at the same time. His voice had an amazing smoothness which just took us to another world. I wish if I could hit a pause button and listen to him forever.
And if Pandit Ji was not enough we had another special friend who came over for the event - Kedar Indurkar. Kedar is a differently abled genius. Somebody who has not let his constraints come in way of helping others who need help. He is the winner of  National Award for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities. Kedar has typed and translated twelve books in three languages into Braille. His works are proving extremely beneficial and are adding to the knowledge and education of the visually impaired in institutes in Karnataka and Maharashtra. The translated works include eight books of a noted writer and social worker, Sudha Murthy, and few other books in Hindi and Marathi. He sang the song – Zindagi Kaisi Hai Paheli Haaye and I had the privilege of holding the mic. All I can say is that it was a very touching moment for me. I wished if time had a pause button and I could hear Kedar’s inspirational words forever.
The meetup was made possible by two die hard music lovers – Ranjana Mishra and Mukesh Jha. Both of them worked tirelessly to make it happen. The fun started at 3PM and went all the way till 10PM. The songs ranged from gazals, filmi, sufi to marathi. Everybody pitched in to showcase musical talent. We even had a sporting wife dancing to her husband’s tunes ( I know this happens rarely ) during the event. Music lovers enjoyed every moment and I am sure it will keep lingering in our minds for months.
For those of you who prefer pictures over words check out the album below.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.252790474767724.59723.111281795585260&type=3
Interesting read.
Personally envy your passion for everything that _you_ do.
thanks of everything Birlaji. you have written that touch to the heart. i got nice friend Kedar indurkar and also all of you
thanks of everything Birlaji. you have written that touch to the heart. i got nice friend Kedar indurkar and also all of you
Hi Birlaji we all had a great time and enjoyed the evening. Panditji was superb and infact we had goosepimples listening to his beautiful voice. His students were superb too. Last but not the least Kedar singing bought tears oh what spirit..it was so good. Keep up the good work.