Review: UMAK FESTIVAL at At Azad Bhawan, Delhi

A two-day cultural festival to mark the 82nd birthday of Sitarist Pandit Debu Chaudhuri was organized in the capital city of India. Titled as the UMAK festival, the yearly event honors the contributions made by the legendary musician and Padmabhushan awardee in the field of Indian music.

As an ode to the rich tradition many artists of acclaim performed and enthralled the audiences on May 27 and 28 in the city. The festival opened with an address by Dr Mahesh Sharma, minister of State for Tourism and Culture. Kuchpudi exponents Raja and Radha Reddy and their spellbounding delivery followed this. The evening took a musical pace with performance by sitar maestro Pandit Pratik Chaudhuri. Reviving the beautiful tradition of thumris and dadras was Malini Awasthi. While the first day set the tone of a festival day 2 was also equally engaging with a table and percussion recital by Pranshu Chaturlal. Followed by Bharatnatyam and a kathak recital.

The festival bid adieu for a year but not without creating a niche space in the hearts of lovers of classical forms of performing arts in India.

The festival was held on May 28, at Azad Bhawan Auditorium, ITO, Delhi