The eighth edition of Kashmir’s biggest annual music festival Shashrang will begin today at Tagore Hall with the participation of dozens of artists from the State and outside.
The two-day festival will be inaugurated by music maestro Ustad Abdul Rasheed Hafiz. The festival will comprise different segments across different genres of the music and interactive sessions.
Preparations have been afoot for the last two months for the smooth conduct of the festival and almost all major artists and musicians have confirmed their participation.
The organisers are terming the festival as one of the biggest in the State which besides celebrating the age-old rich tradition of Kashmiri music also aims to provide a platform to younger artists.
“It is the only kind of music festival of such level to be organised in Kashmir on annual basis,” WaheedJeelani, chairman Kashmir Music Club, which is organising the festival. A few Kashmiri artists from outside are also expected to participate in the festival.
The festival will also celebrate the unsung musicians and instrumentalists of the industry who have been working tirelessly in the field for the decades.
The organisers said that the festival will be completely Kashmir centric. “It is not only entertainment but connecting our younger generation with our rich history of music and introducing them with the legends of our industry,” said the organisers.
The festival is the only kind of its event in Kashmir which includes all three categories – Sufiyana, folk and light music. Like its previous seasons this year too the festival is expected to attract a large number of music lovers.
The festival recognises the achievements of Kashmiri artists by giving them awards and citations. The festival will also witness the distribution of Shashrang awards in music in various categories. The awards were recently announced in the categories of Folk music, light music Kashmiri, Naseem Akhtar award, Zazz award and Nassar-ul-lah Khan award. The awards will be given on 16th of November 2018 and are being presented in collaboration with J&K Academy of Art, Culture & Languages, and Jammu & Kashmir Bank Ltd.
One of the major events of the festival will be an important interaction session titled “Ways and means to promote and preserve the Kashmiri music,” which will be held on the 2nd day of Shashrang festival. Here experts in the field will put forward their opinion on the subject.