How Aarohi built a platform for young Hindustani artistes

Aadya Mukherjee, who turns 20 adjacent month, has already made a important people successful Kolkata’s euphony circles. She is 1 of six performers astatine Aarohi 2026 — A Festival of Rising Stars, to beryllium held successful Mumbai connected May 20 and 21. “Indian classical euphony has go profoundly intertwined with my individuality and emotions, and presenting it connected specified a level is incredibly meaningful to me,” says Aadya, who trains connected assistance astatine the ITC Sangeet Research Academy nether Pt. Ajoy Chakraborty and his elder disciple Brajeshwar Mukherjee.

Launched by Pancham Nishad successful 2002, Aarohi has agelong showcased emerging classical talent. This year’s line-up besides includes vocalists Abhed Abhisheki, Chaitanya Parab and Swati Tiwari, santoor subordinate Divyansh Srivastava, and flautist Samyak Parashari.

Shashi Vyas, laminitis of Pancham Nishad and the Grace Foundation, says the festival’s purpose is to empower musicians astatine the close time. “Great musicians are not made connected large stages. They are made connected the close stage, astatine the close moment, earlier an assemblage that listens with care. That is what Aarohi has aimed to build.”

Over the years, respective youngsters introduced astatine Aarohi person gone connected to marque a people successful the classical euphony world., including vocalists Jayateerth Mevundi, Rahul Deshpande and Manjari Asanare Kelkar, sitarists Niladri Kumar and Purbayan Chatterjee, and tabla artiste Ojas Adhiya. It is 1 of 2 young-artiste festivals presented by Pancham Nishad and the Grace Foundation. In 2022 the organisers launched Raagdari GenNXT astatine Mumbai’s Prithvi Theatre, a bid wherever emerging artistes execute successful a natural, unamplified setting.

This year’s Aarohi features artistes from respective gharanas. Aadya, presently grooming successful the Patiala gayaki astatine ITC SRA, earlier studied with Devashish Deyat of the Benaras gharana. Abhed Abhisheki comes from an illustrious philharmonic household — helium is the grandson of Pt. Jitendra Abhisheki and lad of Shounak Abhisheki. After initially grooming with Aparna Kelkar, the 21-year-old is present learning from his father, practising a blend of Agra and Jaipur styles.

Chaitanya Parab, 22, represents the Kirana gharana. After archetypal lessons from his mother, Vinaya Parab, helium has been grooming nether Jayateerth Mevundi. Swati Tiwari, 29, is chiefly schooled successful the Gwalior gharana but has besides studied the Purab ang of the Benaras style; her gurus see Ramgopal, Ramshankar, Shashwati Mandal and Sunanda Sharma.

Of the instrumentalists, 29-year-old Divyansh Srivastava practices the Sopori Sufiana benignant connected the santoor. He began with vocal grooming nether his father, but a passionateness for the instrumentality led him to survey with maestro Pt. Bhajan Sopori and aboriginal Abhay Rustam Sopori. The youngest successful the line-up, 17-year-old Samyak Parashari, trains successful the Benarasi benignant of flute nether the renowned Pt. Rajendra Prasanna.

According to Shashi Vyas, Aarohi has fixed a level to 138 young musicians to date. Each artiste is selected cautiously to guarantee they tin clasp their ain connected a superior stage, and for galore participants the festival marks the existent commencement of their nonrecreational journey.