PUNE: Twenty-four years after it opened with the late Ustad Rashid Khan, Vidushi Ashwini Bhide Deshpande and Pandit Satish Vyas, Vartamaan – The Present is giving the stage to a new generation. The two-day Hindustani classical series, presented by GRACE Foundation, a sister concern of Pancham Nishad, under the aegis of the Talent Forum Corpus …
PUNE: Twenty-four years after it opened with the late Ustad Rashid Khan, Vidushi Ashwini Bhide Deshpande and Pandit Satish Vyas, Vartamaan – The Present is giving the stage to a new generation. The two-day Hindustani classical series, presented by GRACE Foundation, a sister concern of Pancham Nishad, under the aegis of the Talent Forum Corpus Fund, will be held at Yashwantrao Chavan Natyagruha, Kothrud, on Saturday, 17 October, from 5.00 PM, and Sunday, 18 October 2026, from 10.00 AM.
Tejaswini Vernekar and Siddhartha Belmannu perform on Saturday; Mugdha Vaishampayan and Aniruddh Aithal follow on Sunday morning. They are accompanied by Nikhil Phatak, Aashay Kulkarni and Pranav Gurav on tabla, and Leeladhar Chakradeo, Abhinay Ravande and Harshal Katdare on harmonium. Smt. Manjiri Dhamankar anchors both days.
Pancham Nishad founder Shashi Vyas conceived Vartamaan to identify, encourage and present emerging talent. “When we launched Vartamaan in 2002, the vision was simple: identify the voices shaping the present to safeguard the future of classical music,” says Vyas, Founder and Director of Pancham Nishad and GRACE Foundation. Pancham Nishad marks 30 years in 2026.
The Talent Forum Corpus Fund backs young musicians at important stages of their artistic journey, as well as senior musicians who may not have received a deserving platform earlier.
The four artists have come to Hindustani classical music by different routes. Tejaswini Vernekar, an All India Radio ‘A’ grade artiste and Banaras Hindu University Gold Medallist, is pursuing her PhD after more than two decades of training under Vidushi Jayalakshmi Bhat, Vidushi Lakshmi B. Hegde and Pt. G. R. Bhat. Siddhartha Belmannu began in the Carnatic tradition and has spent 13 years in Gurukul-style training under Pt. Vinayak Torvi, a senior exponent associated with the Gwalior and Kirana traditions.
Mugdha Vaishampayan, trained in the Jaipur-Atrauli tradition, became widely known in Maharashtra through Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Little Champs, and sings khayal, thumri, bhajan and Marathi natyasangeet. Aniruddh Aithal took up classical music at ten and trained under the late Dr. Ashok Huggannavar. He won an All India Radio national competition in 2017 and is an ‘A’ grade artiste.
Co-sponsors: Allcargo Group and HSBC Mutual Fund. Supported by: Avashya Foundation
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