NEW DELHI: Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar has lauded All India Radio for keeping alive the traditions of classical music in the country and maintaining sizeable archives of eminent singers and artistes.

Speaking at the Delhi concert of the 61st  Akashvani Sangeet Sammellan over the weekend, the Minister said AIR had done yeoman service in patronising hundreds of classical musicians over the years and also carrying this classical art form which once used to be the exclusive preserve of the wealthy and elites to the households and huts of common people.

The Minister recalled how as a child belonging to lower middle class family which could afford a gramophone, his first introduction and subsequent embellishment in Indian classical music was through AIR. He was laudatory of AIR for organising immaculate  musical events which not only have a very significant role in carrying forward and passing on the heritage and tradition of Indian classical  music of all genres and gharanas to the next generation but also developing Akashvani into a confluence of all – a gharana in itself.

Veteran dhrupad vocalist Shanno Khurana was felicitated on the occasion in recognition of her lifetime contribution in the field of music by the Minister and Prasar Bharati Chief Executive Jawhar Sircar, himself an acclaimed cultural luminary apart from being an outstanding administrator with a vision for the National Broadcaster.

The Sammellan was simultaneously held in 24 cities and towns all over the country. AIR sources said the recordings will be relayed on different AIR kendras from 7 November all over the country.

A large number of eminent artistes and some very talented upcoming artistes performed on the same stage in front of scores of enthralling music lovers as part of AIR's mission of popularising and conserving Indian classical Music heritage for posterity.

The three hour concert in Delhi featured Pandit Rupak Kulkarni on flute and Abhisekh Raghuram, carnatic vocal was reverberated with cheers and claps of appreciative audience  as both the artistes transported  them to a world of sublimity with their mesmerising performance.

This year's Akasvani Sangeet Sammelan also made special note of the birth centenary of Hindustani classical music Begum Akhtar.

The event was inaugurated by lighting of traditional lamp by Sircar and AIR Director General Fayyaz Sheheryar.

The 24 cities in which the concert was held this year are: Agartala, Agra, Allahabad, Aurangabad, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Darbhanga, Dharwad, Gwalior, Hyderabad, Jammu, Jamshedpur, Kolkata, Kakinada (Vijayavada), Kota, Mumbai, Shimla, Thiruvananthapuram, Tirunelveli, Triputo, and Vadodara besides Delhi.

AIR invites artistes from both Hindustani Music and Karnatic music genres. Joint Concerts of Hindustani and Karnatic music were held at eight venues whereas exclusive concerts for Hindustani and Karnatic music were at 12 and at four venues respectively.

Some of the names which were once part of the annual celebration are MS Subbulakshmi, Pt. DV Paluskar, Ustad Bade Gulam Ali Khan, Ustad Amir Khan, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Pt. Ravi Shankar, Ustad Bhismillah Khan, Pt.Jasraj, Dr.Bala Muralikrishna, Vidushi Kishori Amonkar, Pt. Rajan Mishra and Pt. Sajan Mishra, Pt. Debu Choudhary, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Singh Bandhu and list goes on.

Akashvani Sangeet Sammelan was started in the year 1954, and since then it has evolved as a strong brand name for All India Radio in the mind space of both the artistes and connoisseurs alike for over six decades. It is an annual prestigious music event organised all over the country featuring both eminent artistes and upcoming youngsters from the stream of Hindustani and Karnatic Classical Music. No artiste of national and international eminence has ever missed out from being featured in the prestigious event, a much sought after by both artistes and connoisseurs.