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News |  03 Sep 2014 00:08 |  By RnMTeam

Musicians jam at Bengaluru Ganesh Utsava

BENGALURU: The 52nd edition of Bengaluru Ganesh Utsava (BGU) welcomes the son of Lord Shiva as the singing stalwarts like Sunidhi Chauhan, Pankaj Udhas and many more, welcome Ganesha with amazing performances. The APS College ground, Basavanagudi, Bengaluru is decked up as the celebrations will go on for 11 days of the festival.

The BGU, this year has yet another star-studded lined up, the aforementioned, to name a few. So was it difficult to get the stalwarts to perform? Pat was the answer, "Definitely not. These stars have been singing here for a long time now. They are just a call away. You name the artiste, and they are here. Also, over the years, the founders of the event have developed a very good rapport with the artistes. In fact, SP Balasubramanyam made his debut by performing for us in the year 1975," said Bengaluru Ganesh Utsav member Gopinath M to Radioandmusic.com.

Kadri Gopalnath and troupe, Usha Umesh and group, music composer duo Vishal Shekhar and Bombay Jayashri have already performed at the BGU 2014. The stage awaits performances from musicians like Sunidhi Chauhan, Raghu Dixit, Pankaj Udhas and many more. The 2013 Utsav witnessed performances from musical maestros like Anup Jalota, Gino Banks, Shaan, Usha Uthup, Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal.

The best part is that nowhere does the Utsav have ticketing involved, since the organisers only wish to promote the rich tradition and culture that India has. This means anyone can relish the performances by these artistes. "Keeping tickets for the Utsav would make the event commercial and this would just defeat our purpose," said Gopinath M.

It is a team of 45 members called ‘Shri Vidyaranya Yuvaka Sangha’ who work tirelessly to make this festival successful, who have been offering their voluntary service for ten to fifteen years. "Despite being in the 52nd year of existence, the owners still work very closely with us and this makes our work easier," added Gopinath.

Most artistes perform at the festival free of charge. "The only thing that the artistes who do not reside in Bengaluru ask for is travel and accommodation," said Gopinath.

The organisers are expecting a turnout of 40,000-50,000 daily.

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