What makes the 45-year-old Saptak one of India’s most popular music festivals?  

Experience the nostalgia and warmth of the 45th Saptak festival in Ahmedabad, a celebration of classical music and dance.

Attending the 13-day 45th Saptak festival in Ahmedabad after a gap of a few years was nostalgic. Everyone missed founder Manju Mehta, who passed away in 2024. But, the unobtrusive courtesy and warm hospitality remained the same. Artistes who perform at Saptak are like family, even if it’s their first appearance on stage. 

Some things never change at Saptak — the simple stage in a school premises, the excellent sound system despite the event being both indoors and outdoors, and the strict adherence to time.

Today, Saptak, founded by Nandan and Manju Mehta, has  become one of India’s longestclassical music and dance festivals, held from January 1 to 13 every year. Sandeep Joshi, the founders’ son-in-law and one of the organisers, said the festival grew from one day to three, a week and the present 13 days. Nandan Mehta is a disciple of Pt Kishen Maharaj, who used to come to the festival on December 31 and stay till January 15. 

Initially, the event was held informally — artistes used to stay in the home of Nandan Mehta, and other like-minded music lovers. Gradually, an award honouring artistic excellence was instituted. This, too, was unique in that artistes who performed were called upon to do the honours. Recipients of the award includes Pt Jasraj, Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma, vidushi Kishori Amonkar, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and Pt. Samta Prasad. 

Even this ceremony used to be personalised. Archival recordings of the artiste would be  released, and Kishen Maharaj would usually write a poem on the artistes. Apparently, he would quip — “If you want a copy of my copy on you, you will have to come to Benaras and perform at the festival in memory of my father. Only then will I present the poem to you, duly framed!”

There have been memorable concerts at Saptak. 1n 1997, at his debut appearance at Saptak, Pt. Birju Maharaj played the ‘naad’, Pt. Rishi Upadhyay played the pakhawaj and Pt. Kishen Maharaj the tabla. A two-hour tabla solo of Pt. Samta Prasad is another rare gem.

This year too, there were some very special concerts. Shubhendra Rao, senior disciple of Pt. Ravi Shankar and guru bhai of Manju Mehta, rekindled memories of his guru in his heartfelt tribute concert (the festival this year was dedicated to Manju Mehta and Ustad Zakir Hussain). He played raag Jogeshwari composed by his guru, a combination of raags Rageshwari and Jog. The seamless alaap jor gave way to an unusual jhala, before moving onto the madhya laya composition in Jhaptaal. The second composition was in Ektaal, and unusually, Shubhendra concluded his concert sticking to Ektaal — usually, the laya is difficult to maintain in the ati dhrut jhala. Next, displaying his command over rare pieces of music, Shubhendra played raag Mishra Gara. The composition was an old one, redolent with ‘bolkaari’, and an aural feast. On the tabla was the supremely lyrical Tanmoy Bose from Kolkata.