Vedanta Udaipur World Music Festival concludes its 6th edition

The sixth iteration of Vedanta Udaipur Global Music Festival, India's largest festival of world music was concluded. It attested to the performances of more than 120 prominent musicians from around the world. By providing the local artists with a global stage to display their skills, this year's musical celebration put a special emphasis on the resuscitation of long-forgotten musical instruments like the Sarangi.

On the first day of the festival, local performers performed Sarangi alongside well-known artists like Jasleen Aulakh, Parvaaz, Abakorao with their well-known Latin compositions, and Papon.

The second day featured performances by violinist Nandini Shankar, Italian Launeddas instrument demonstrators Bruno Loi and Jonathan Della Marianna, Kamakshi Khanna, Katia Guerreiro, renowned Portuguese Fado singer SENZA, Zimbabwe's Blessing Bled Chimanga & Dreams, the hugely popular The Raghu Dixit Project, and the energetic Spanish band Habla de mi en presente. The Sarangi players' performance and the disclosure of the Vedanta Talent Hunt findings took place on the same day.

The final day of the music festival featured performances by Australian Srijani Ghose, Anoushka Maskey, actor-singer Sanjeeta Bhattacharya, and Aabha Hanjura. The Electric Percussions Orchestra from France, Albaluna from Portugal, Naveen and Vedang, India's top solo acoustic guitarist Dhruv Visvanath, Amrit Ramnath, and Farhan Akhtar all gave performances on the final day.

Speaking of the event, Sanjeev Bhargava, Founder Director of Seher, said: "Our team at Seher has worked relentlessly for several weeks to organize this festival, and the warm reception we received was worth the effort. We are thankful to each artist and the people of Udaipur for helping us make our dream a reality. We have already started making plans for the next edition, and hopefully, we will be back soon."

"The Vedanta Udaipur Music Festival this year has surpassed our expectations. The footfall was very encouraging, and every artist performed their best. The reception that the Sarangi performance received was admirable, and we hope to continue inspiring local artists with future collaborations," Arun Misra, CEO, Hindustan Zinc Limited said.

Farhan Akhtar, who performed on the last day of the festival said: "It was great performing at the Vedanta Udaipur Music Festival. I felt like the audience could connect with every artist and their unique style. The local musicians were inspiring and their performance motivates us of the need for more such efforts and platforms."

The Vedanta Talent Hunt was part of the event and served as a venue for regional artists from Udaipur and surrounding districts to display their skills. It offered its devotees hope and assisted in reviving the dying craft. The winning performers performed on the afternoon stage of the event's last day, and Arun Mishra and Sanjeev Bhargava gave the awards during the certification ceremony that evening.