24years old Gold Medalist Ghazal Singer Pooja Gaitonde's and HAF's Curtain Raiser Program Sufi & Ghazals held at Chowmahalla Palace
Pooja Gaitonde, the young multi talented Sufi and Ghazal singer and harmonium player hooked her audiences with notes that stirred their heart.
Sufi & Ghazal sensation, 24years old Gold Medalist Ghazal Singer Pooja Gaitonde's Sufi & Ghazals program held at Chowmahalla Palace on Saturday night. The program was organized by Hyderabad Arts Festival (HAF) as part of the Heritage Week in association with Chowmahalla Palace.
HAF is the The three month long India’s longest performing Arts Festival. The program is ther curtain raiser of the 5th edition of “Hyderabad Arts Festival” .
HAF is a part of the Happening Hyderabad initiative of the Telangana government and has support from the Government of Telangana. The HAF team has lined up impressive non ticketed events to celebrate spirit of Hyderabad to be held at different venues across the city for next three months.
Pooja Gaitonde was also on the harmonium. Her other team members include: Abhishek Mestry on Keyboard; Athar Hussain Khan on Tabla. Mohammed Bashir and Vishal Jagtap were ccompanying singers with Pooja Gaitonde.
Pooja and her four member team churned out mesmerizing Sufi and Ghazal numbers like: Ranjish hi sahi; Dil jalane ki baat; Aaj jane ki zid; Aaj socha to aansu; Duniya jise kehte hai; Chhap tilak; Dumadum mast kalandar; Maula mere lele meri jaan; Tere bin nahi lagda; Khwaja mere khwaja; Man kunto maula; Mera piya ghar aaya and Bhardo jholi
Music has the power to touch souls and among the various forms of music, Sufi music is considered the thread that binds human soul to the Almighty. Pooja Gaitonde is a perfect example for the same. Pooja's ghazal renditions are popular for creating a long lasting mystic impact on the listeners. She is known to have the capacity to hook her audiences with notes that stir the heart.
With a sound foothold in traditional Knowledge of Raagdari, Pooja’s Ghazal & Sufi compositions left an indelible impression because of the energy that emanated from her consistent search for true & living expressions.
Pooja is presently learning Sufi & Ghazals from Ustad Munnwar Masoom Sayeed Khan. She was indeed fortunate to have been honed classical vocal under the tutelage of Late Pandit S.C.R. Bhat, one of the great classical vocal virtuoso of Agra Gharana & also from his disciples Shri. Raja Upasani & Smt. Suniti Gangoli.
Pooja is groomed in light classical by Shri. Vikas Bhatwadekar, Smt. Dhanashri Pandit Rai, Shri. Lalji Desai, Shri. Santosh Kudva, Swamy Chaitanya Swaroopji of Shree Vallabh Sangeet Vidyalaya, Sion, Mumbai.
Pooja is also mastering in Harmonium playing from Pandit Tulsidas Borkar. She has been trained by Ustad Ibrahim Durvesh for her Urdu pronunciation which appeals to literate audience. She has also taken guidance from Javed Ahemed Sakhi, NCPUL & Sahab Hasan. With a blessed voice and gifted ability, Pooja comfortably drew attention of 1000 plus audience.
Abhishek Mestry won hearts with is keyboard playing. Athar Husain Khan is the eminent tabla player belonging to the Ajrada Gharana has played the most famous signature tune of "Aaj Tak" news channel....has accompanied all the seniors as well.
The three month long Hyderabad Arts Festival, India’s longest performing Arts Festival is being organized for the past four seasons to celebrate the spirit of Hyderabad is back with bang with its latest edition.
The festival which took birth in 2012 as a result of a trio - a Hyderabadi, a Keralite and a Tamilian, for the love of the city has become India’s longest performing arts festival now. And has become a name to reckon in the industry.
This year too like in the past, the organizers -- A.V. Ramakrishna from Hyderabad, C.S. Manoj from Kerala and Capt. Anand from Chennai, who made Hyderabad their home - lined up impressive non ticketed events to be held at different venues across the city for next three months.
Hyderabad has the 400 years of rich cultural heritage. It has been projected as the Global City. It played host to many luminaries like Bill Clinton, George Bush, Kofi Annan, Bill Gates and many others. HAF wants to contribute to this aspect by organizing good events in its annual festival that runs for 3 long months every year.
