Where music meets heritage

Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia performs at the MU Convocation Hall for the festival

In 1992, when Walkeshwar's Banganga Tank was facing a threat of demolition, the Indian Heritage Society-Mumbai (IHS) started a live classical music festival there. Anita Garware, chairperson, IHS, shares that the 11th century structure is one of the five original tanks in the city. "Heritage is something we inherit; it's our responsibility to carry it forward," she reasons. Once the Banganga Festival kicked off, it shined the spotlight on the heritage structure. However, after a Bombay High Court order on noise pollution, the event had to be shifted to the steps of the Town Hall or the Asiatic Society of Mumbai, and was renamed the Mumbai Sanskriti festival in 2009.

Anita Garware

Rolling with the times, the festival has now taken the online route. The 30th edition will be held at the Convocation Hall in the Fort campus of Mumbai University (MU), starting today. The hall is part of the ensemble of Victorian Neo-Gothic buildings in the city, and has received the UNESCO Asia Pacific Award for heritage conservation in 2007. IHS, which has been instrumental in its efforts to identify heritage landmarks in the city and restore them, had organised a concert at the hall in 1997, recalls Garware. "Our mandate is to bring about awareness and assist in restoring the heritage of the city. In April 1997, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi sang at the MU Convocation Hall to raise funds for its renovation," she tells us.

Every Friday for a month, the performances will be streamed online for viewers. Flautist Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia will lead the opening act in the 2022 edition. The festival will also feature vocalists Sanjeev Chimmalgi and Ankita Joshi, and violinist Dr N Rajam. "Since it's difficult to contain crowds, we went online last year. We look forward to hosting a physical festival next year,"
Garware hopes.

On: February 11, 18, 25 and March 4, 7 pm
Log on to: Indian Heritage Society Mumbai on YouTube