Hema Malini, Anup Jalota Among 100 Artists To Offer ‘Rag Seva’ To Lord Ram During 45-Day Festival

Starting on Friday, the 45-day Lord Ram devotional music festival will end on March 10.

“In line with the classical tradition, ‘Rag Seva’ will be organised at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple from January 26. This event will be organised in the ‘gudi mandap’ before the Lord in which more than 100 well-known artists from different provinces and art traditions from across the country will offer their ‘Rag Seva’ at the feet of Lord Ram for the next 45 days,” a member of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra said.

The ‘gudi mandap’ is located in front of the ‘Garbha Griha (sanctum sanctorum)’ where the new idol of Lord Ram was consecrated in a grand ceremony led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday.

“The architect and coordinator of this programme on behalf of the trust is Yatindra Mishra and the curation has been supported by the Sangeet Natak Akademi in Delhi,” the trust member said.

“‘Rag Seva’ is a classical tradition. First in the series is Malini Awasthi from Uttar Pradesh whose rendition will include ‘sohar’, ‘Badhawa’ and ‘mangal gan’,” the member said.

Artists like Vyjayanthimala, Sikkil Gurcharan, Pandit Sajan Mishra, Jasbir Jassi, Aruna Sairam, Swapna Sundari, Rahul Deshpande, Suresh Wadkar, Darshana Jhaveri, Jayanth Kumaresh, Purna Das Baul, Rajani and Gayatri, and Devaki Pandit are among those who will perform “Rag Seva.”

During the 45-day celebration, performances by Basanti Bisht, Prerana Shrimali, Sunanda Sharma, Meeta Pandit, and Padma Subrahmanyam are also scheduled.

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Yatindra Mishra was also responsible for the ‘Mangal Dhwani’, which echoed throughout the consecration ritual. The magnificent musical performance included fifty traditional musical instruments from all around the nation.

These included veena from Karnataka, Algoja from Punjab, Sundari from Maharashtra, Mardala from Odisha, santoor from Madhya Pradesh, pung from Manipur, Nagada and kali from Assam, and tambura from Chhattisgarh. These were from Uttar Pradesh and included flute, dholak, and pakhawaj.

Additionally, there were the following: ghatam from Andhra Pradesh; sitar from Jharkhand; Santar from Gujarat; pakhawaj from Bihar; Hudka from Uttarakhand; Ravanahatha from Rajasthan; shehnai from Delhi; Shrikhol and sarod from West Bengal; and nagaswaram, Tavil, and mridangam from Tamil Nadu.

Sonu Nigam, Anuradha Paudwal, and Shankar Mahadevan performed musical numbers featuring songs devoted to Lord Ramadan before the ‘Mangal Dhwani’.

In their homes and nearby temples, thousands of people watched the historic ‘Pran Pratishtha (consecration)’ ceremony on television on Monday, contributing to the historic occasion that took place just months before the Lok Sabha elections.

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Music has found another significant place in the heart of the temple town as a roundabout named after legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar has of late turned into a major hotspot for residents and tourists seeking the perfect selfie. A giant ornate sculpture of a veena that weighs 14 tons has been placed at the center of the roundabout.

The Lata Mangeshkar Chowk marks the intersection of Ram Path and Dharm Path, both bedecked with ornamental lamp posts.

Source: PTI