Music, poetry will light up Pune's Diwali

If you thought Hindustani classical music or poetry recital are things to be associated with evenings or late nights, think again.

The cultural capital of Maharashra, Pune, is all set to witness over a dozen such events this Diwali with cultural organisations gearing up to welcome the festival of light with Diwali Pahaat (the dawn of Diwali) events offering an early morning fare of literary and musical entertainment.

The festival this year will last for full four days providing music lovers with a wide range of choice. Noted classical vocalist Sanjeev Abhyankar will perform on the Balipratipada (October 23) at the SM Joshi Hall, while ace singer Aarti Ankalikar will enthrall the audiences at the Yashvantrao Chavan Auditorium on Sunday (October 22). Culture enthusiasts will also be treated to a mix of music, poetry and humour on October 21 at the Yashvantrao Chavan Auditorium.

Event organiser Shirish Bodhani, who is organising Saniya Patankar's vocal concert on October 21, said the trend of hosting cultural programmes in the morning during Diwali days was well set in Pune now.

"The only difficulty is to get people to buy tickets. And even if they do, it is difficult to meet the ends as all costs, including the artistes' fees, have gone up," he said, stressing the need to get sponsorships for the events.

There are others who target these events as fund raising occasions. Rotary Club of Pune Parvati has decided to donate the proceeds of the show to charity. It was Mumbai-based socio-cultural organisation Chaturang that pioneered the concept two decades ago. Chaturang activist Vinayak Kale said the concept has now spread not just to Pune but to almost the entire state as well.

Not surprisingly, politicians too have jumped on the bandwagon and have started their own Diwali Pahaat events. Tridal, an organisation supported by Congress corporator Satish Desai, and Aapla Parisar which has the blessings of BJP's Ujjwal Keskar, are among the major organisers of such events.

The industrial twin-city of Pimpri Chinchwad too will have its share of Diwali entertainment as singer Vijay Koparkar and flautist KG Ginde will perform in separate events.

There will be some actual lighting too as Sarasbag Mitra Mandal plans to light well over 10,000 earthen oil lamps (panati) in the historic garden with the famous Ganesha shrine. A similar fete is due at Shanivaar Wada - the seat of the Peshwas.