Pune : Vasantotsav Witnesses Magnificient Performances of Dr Ashwini Bhide Deshpande and Piyush Mishra !

Pune, January 19, 2024: The first day of the three-day ‘Vasantotsav’ saw outstanding performances of Dr Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande and Piyush Mishra today. Being the 17th edition of the festival, it is being held at the Suryakant Kakade Farms, Kothrud.

The first session commenced with Dr Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande’s performance. She performed Raag Madhuvanti. Her renditions witnessed a Bandish ‘Saanjh Bhayi’ in Vilambit Teen Taal and a Drut Bandish ‘Mai Aau Tore Mandarva’ composed by Vasantrao Deshpande and Pt. Kumar Gandharva. She then presented a composition ‘Sur Sangat’ by Vasantrao Deshpande in Raag Tilak Kamod. She concluded her performance with a Bhajan ‘Ram Tori Maya Naach Nachave.’ Dr Ashwini Bhide Deshpande was accompanied by Bharat Kamat on Tabla, Dr Chaitanya Kunte on Harmonium, Swarangi Marathe and Rutuja Lad on Tanpura.

The second session saw a renowned actor, singer, lyricist, musician and screenwriter Piyush Mishra’s enthralling renditions. He performed some of his most-loved numbers like, ‘Voh Purane Din,’ ‘Hamlet,’ ‘Ek Bagal Mein Chand,’ ‘Ghar,’ ‘Aarambh Hai Prachand Hai,’ ‘Husna,’ and ‘Uth Ja Bhau.’ His performance was lauded with standing ovations, whistles and ‘once more’s!’ Piyush Mishra was accompanied by Rahul Gandhi for Vocals, Yohan on Base Gitar, Sreyas Iyengar on Drums, Natasha Pinto on Keyboard, Shirish Malhotra on Saxophone and Flute and Nishant Agarwal on Guitar of the famous ‘Ballimaran Band.’

Bapu Deshpande of Vasantrao Deshpande Pratishthan, Piyusha Asabe of Venkatesh Buildcon, Dr Mahadev Sagre; Jt. Secretary of Bharati Vidyapeeth, Renu Ajit Gadgil of P N Gadgil, Jay Kakade of Suryakant Kakade and Associates, Bharat Kulhalli of Mascot were among the dignitaries present on the occasion. Neha Deshpande, Deepti Mate, Tejas Upadhye, Rajas Upadhya were also present.

This year’s Vasantotsav is presented by Punit Balan Group. It is being supported by Venkatesh Buildcon Pvt. Ltd. – Ankush Asabe Venture, Bharati Vidyapeeth, P N Gadgil and Sons, Suhana Masale, Lokmanya Multipurpose Co-Op Society, Girikand Holidays, Khaitan & Company, Mascot, Don Studio, and L & Realty