Preview/ Khazana ghazal festival

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR 

Preview: Khazana, A Festival Of Ghazals

Artistes: Pankaj Udhas, Talat Aziz, Anup Jalota, Hariharan, Rekha Bhardwaj, others

Genre: Ghazal

Details: July 29 and 30, 7 pm, Regal Room, Trident, Mumbai

Presented by: Trident and Union Bank Of India

Over the years, there have been numerous memories of Khazana, the annual ghazal festival at the Trident, Mumbai. There was Pankaj Udhas singing 'Chitthi Aayi Hai' and 'Ahista'. There was Talat Aziz presenting 'Kaise Sukoon Paaoon'  and 'Zindagi Jab Bhi'. You had drummer Shivamani making a surprise appearance when his wife Runaa Rizvii was singing. And you had the maestros Rajendra Mehta, Rajkumar Rizvi and Bhupinder, who have sadly left us.

Started in 2002 as a result of a conversation between Udhas, Aziz and Anup Jalota about reviving an earlier festival, Khazana has had a special place in the world of ghazals. Driven by Udhas, it's held for a worthy cause of providing assistance to cancer and thalassaemia patients through the Cancer Patients Aid Association and Parents Association Thalassaemic Unit Trust.

For two years, the festival had to be shifted online because of the pandemic. But the good news is that with things opening up, it's back to its regular 'physical' format, with performances on July 29 and 30 at the sprawling and luxurious Regal Room of the Trident. Some classic ghazals are promised till well past midnight, the bar will keep spirits high and the food spread should be mouth-watering once again. According to Udhas, some fans even travel from abroad.

Like every year, this year's line-up contains a mix of experience and youth. The opening night will feature Udhas, Rekha Bhardwaj, Talat Aziz, Priyanka Barve, Pooja Gaitonde and classical singer Rahul Deshpande, who recently won the National Award for the Marathi film Mee Vasantrao. Khazana Artist Aloud Talent Hunt winner Surendra Kumar Rawal, and youngsters Sneha Astunkar and Himangi will perform too.

The second day's line-up comprises Jalota, Hariharan, Vishal Bhardwaj, Ghansham Vaswani, Sudeep Banerji, Shivani Vaswani, Pratibha Singh Baghel and Runaa Rizvii Shivamani, who will pay tribute to her father, the late Rajkumar Rizvi. Also scheduled is Khazana Artist Aloud Talent Hunt winner Aparajita Lahiri.

In a special gesture, this year's festival will be dedicated to Lata Mangeshkar, who passed away on February 6. As Udhas said, "Lata Ji has played a major role in popularising the ghazal medium through cinema, through songs composed by Madan Mohan, Naushad, Roshan and others." Thus, one may be prepared for renditions of 'Lag Ja Gale' (Woh Kaun Thi) and 'Rasm-e-Ulfat' (Dil Ki Raahen), among other gems.

In an earlier interview to this blogger, Udhas had said Khazana has had three main aims. First was to raise funds for cancer and thalassaemia patients. The second was to continue promoting the cause of ghazals. And the third was to give a platform to young talent.

Over two decades many younger artistes have performed at Khazana, from Anurag Sharma and Jazim Sharma to Gayatri Asokan and Pooja Gaitonde. This is besides senior artistes like Penaz Masani, Ahmed Hussain & Mohammed Hussain, Suresh Wadkar and many others. The memories just keep multiplying.