The Shri Ram Lalla Raag Seva, which began with Malini Awasthi’s performance on January 26, will culminate with dancer Sonal Mansingh’s presentation on March 10.
The 45-day Shri Ram Lalla Raag Seva, which began with folk singer Malini Awasthi’s performance on January 26 and will culminate with Bharatnatyam-Odissi dancer Sonal Mansingh’s presentation on March 10.
Singers, dancers, instrumentalists, and folk artists are performing during the musical seva to the deity, which is organized by the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust and takes place on the temple grounds near the sanctum sanctorum of the Ram Temple.
The raag seva comprises instruments including the sitar, the tabla, the pakhawaj, the shehnai, the sarod, the sarangi, the flute, the veena, the mridangam, and the harmonium, as well as vocal styles like bhajan, shabad, and kirtan. The festival will also feature classical Indian dance forms from all throughout the country.
According to the event’s curator and national award-winning novelist, Yatindra Mishra, “During the period, 90 principal performers along with roughly 250 accompanists performed Ram Seva on the temple premises. All performers performed for free and paid respect to Shri Ram through bhajans, folk and classical music, and dance. Sangeet Natak Academy also played a vital role in coordinating with the artists.
Performers included vocalists Ashwini Bhide Deshpande, Pt Sajan Mishra, Anuradha Paudwal, Suresh Wadekar, Anup Jalota, Uday Bhawalkar, Rahul Deshpande, Gauri Yadwadkar, Palak Muchhal, and Abby V alongside actor-dancers Vyjayanthimala (90), Padma Subrahmanyam (81), Hema Malini, and Swapna Sundari, as well as prominent instrumentalists Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Pandit Ronu Majumdar, and Bhajan Sopori.
“When this event was planned, trust general secretary Champat Rai requested that a variety of India’s performing arts be presented, so we curated this event so that everyone could give their presentations at the temple.” This festival featured more than 50 different types of gaan, dances, instrumental music, and dhun,” Mishra stated, according to the Hindustan Times.
According to the Hindustan Times, Yadwadkar, a Marathi musician, says, “The Parampara of performing at temples has been happening for centuries, and it’s a blessing that I got to present my bhajans on this temple premises, in front of the deity and the devotees.”
The final performance by the dancing guru and Padma Vibhushan laureate Sonal Mansingh will take place at the temple at 3 p.m., as usual.
