Pune: Tejaswini Vernekar from Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) and Meher Parlikar from Pune (Maharashtra) have bagged the first prizes in the female and male categories respectively at the Gunijaan Bandish National Contest , organized by the Gunijaan Research Art Culture and Education Foundation (GRACE) to commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of renowned Hindustani classical vocalist Padma Bhushan Pandit C.R. Vyas. The first-place winners were awarded a cash prize of Rs. 1.25 lakhs each.
The results of the Gunijaan Bandish Contest were announced on Sunday evening. In the female category, Somdatta Chatterjee (24 Parganas, West Bengal) secured the second position, and Yugandhara Keche (Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra) won the third prize. In the male category, Darshan Melvanki (Vijapur, Karnataka) secured the second position, and Atharva Vairagakar (Nashik, Maharashtra) won the third prize. The winners were felicitated with trophies and certificates by veteran singer-actress Vidushi Nirmala Gogate, Padma Shri Taalyogi Pandit Suresh Talwalkar, Padma Shri Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar, and Pandit Suhas Vyas. Grace Foundation President Shashi Vyas and the competition’s conceptualizer, renowned singer Aparna Kelkar, were present. The second-place winners received Rs. 75,000 each, and the third-place winners received Rs. 50,000 each.
The semi-finals, pre-finals, and finals of the Gunijaan Bandish National Competition, organized by the Grace Research Art Culture and Education Foundation (GRACE) to commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of renowned Hindustani classical singer Padma Bhushan Pandit C.R. Vyas, were held at Dr. Shriram Lagoo Rangavakash, Hirabag, Pune.
For the final round, the following participants were selected: Adya Mukherjee, Somdatta Chatterjee, Yugandhara Keche, Nandini Gaikwad, Swati Tiwari, Tejaswini Vernekar in the female category, and Ishan Ghosh, Atharva Vairagakar, Rishikesh Karmarkar, Meher Parlikar, Darshan Melvanki, and Chaitanya Parab in the male category.
Speaking about the contest , Taalyogi Pandit Suresh Talwalkar said, “A composition is born from the passion for rhythm and the melody of a raga. To transform the abstract into concrete while staying true to the original composition is a challenging task. If the participants continue to present compositions in their future musical journey, then this competition will be truly meaningful. Organizing this competition is a true tribute to Pandit C.R. Vyas.”
Pandit Suhas Vyas, the elder son of Pandit C.R. Vyas and one of the judges, said, “It is essential for the participants to learn traditional compositions from their gurus, as every composition has its roots in tradition. Pandit C.R. Vyas’s compositions were inspired by his guru, the events around him, and his spiritual experiences. While performing compositions in a concert, it is essential to have by hearted the compositions and be able to improvise them.”
Speaking about the contest, Aparna Kelkar said, “The contest was organized to facilitate the exchange of musical ideas and to take the raga concepts, musical, and literary values of Pandit C.R. Vyas’s compositions to the next generation.”
Shashi Vyas, the organizer of the contest and President of the Grace Foundation, shared the journey of organizing the contest. The vote of thanks was proposed by Geyata Vyas.
On the occasion of the award ceremony , a young talented vocalist from Bengaluru, Siddharth Belmannu, presented a classical music performance. He was accompanied by Ajinkya Joshi on tabla and Nilay Salvi on the harmonium.