MUMBAI: Luminaries from the field of Hindustani classical music will gather in the city on January 8 to pay their annual tribute to renowned vocalist Pt Jitendra Abhisheki. The composer-singer, who passed away in 1998, was a fine blend of the Gwalior, Agra and Jaipur gharanas.

Swaranjali, which is a three-day event, will be organised at the Nehru Centre from January 8 to January 10. Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pt Jasraj, Birju Maharaj, Jaytirth Mevundi and Rahul Sharma will take part in the festival that is being organised by Abhisheki's disciple, Prabhakar Karekar.

Karekar, himself a senior vocalist who is now mentoring the next generation, has been organising the event for the past six years.

Recently, Chaurasia, Karekar and Sharma met at the flautist's Vrindavan Gurukul in Andheri to introduce this year's line-up and schedule. "While most people know Abhisheki for his musical talent, to me, he was a friend. We first met at All India Radio as two young artistes struggling to make a mark. In fact, it was he who gifted me the first pet dog I ever had,'' recalled Chaurasia.

All the artistes will perform for free given the friendly relationship they share with Karekar. "I am doing this out of love for my guru and they identify with that sentiment,'' he says.

Like his seniors, Sharma will select from his repertoire of early evening ragas. "I have performed at Swaranjali before so it is part of my comfort zone,'' he says.

Tradition dictates that younger musicians perform before the seniors take the stage, so Sharma's performance has been scheduled ahead of Pt Jasraj. "Sometimes I wish we could reverse the order. We elders tend to get worn out by night, also we need to eat and sleep early,'' Chaurasia jokes as if he would surrender the privilege, and the other musicians break into laughter.