An ode to nature awaits music lovers as Teen Prahar, a non-ticketed and non-commercial musical venture is all set to come to four cities across India near you. Maestros of tomorrow will share a stage in Delhi (November 13) at the India Habitat Centre and also in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Kolkata at various other venues as a part of the musical sojourn. The music festival is being organised by Banyan Tree Event to sing hosannas to nature.

Pandit Ronu Majumdar, flautist, will sing the evening ragas at India Habitat Centre in Delhi. He says, ?I have participated in other events of Banyan Events and it is a wonderful experience. This time around, I shall sing Rag kalyankeprakar. If I am able to catch the sunset, then I will also sing other melodies that capture the mood of the evening.?

The Teen Prahar festival was conceived by Banyan Tree Events in 2006 at Mumbai with the intention of giving a platform to the best young talent from across the country. It also provides music lovers across India the opportunity to enjoy a day-long musical treat of ragas of morning, afternoon, twilight and night, not heard of before.

Says Anand Lalwani, Senior Manager, Banyan Tree Events, ?The Teen Prahar festival received an overwhelming response and so it is now being evolved into a national music festival that would be one of its kind to be held across four cities. The musical brilliance, the masterful rendering and vibrant performances by these musicians in interesting combinations of solos, jugalbandis and ensembles, both vocal and instrumental, makes this festival an enjoyable experience. We aim to not just entertain but also create awareness of various traditional performing arts.?

Vikram Mehmi, President and CEO, Birla Sun Life Insurance, the main sponsor of the event, says, ?Through this festival, we will build artistes for the future. Last year, we sponsored this festival for the first time in Mumbai. The response of the viewers was phenomenal. Musicians bring their own vibrancy and passion into the hour of the day with their performances. By helping build artistes for the future, we are contributing to building India?s music talent.?

For the future maestros, this is an opportunity to showcase their musical finesse. ?It is an honour to be referred to as a future maestro,? says Rakesh Chaurasia, flautist, who will perform at Delhi. ?I have a long way to go before I can be addressed that. However, I am looking forward to the event. I hope the listeners will enjoy the music as much as I love performing. I am singing the late morning ragas at 10 in the morning. I have chosen the raag Basant Bukhari and I will be ending the performance with bhajans.?

Vocalist Devaki Pandit is singing raag bhimpalas, an early evening melody, for her performance slotted between 4 pm and 6 pm. ?Any raga is believed to enhance nature. Since we live in cities now, we don?t realise the subtle changes in nature as one would experience in the woods, for instance. A raga is inspired by the nature and a listener will have a soothing experience by listening to these melodies. It is a beautiful experience both for the singer and the listener,? she adds.

A treat that nature and the man awaits when acclaimed musicians match their tones and tunes with the nature?s brilliance.

Travelling melody

• November 13, 2008 India Habitat Centre, Delhi

• December 25, 2008 Nehru Centre, Worli, Mumbai

•February 22, 2009 Ravindra Bharthi, Hyderabad

• March 22, 2009, GD Sabhagraha, Kolkata