All India Bhaskar Rao Nritya and Sangeet Sammelan, is hailed as one of the oldest and most prestigious music and dance festivals of India. Since its beginning in 1969, it has offered an ideal stage for the debut of many legendry musicians and dancers. Music and dance enthusiasts from across the country come to Chandigarh to witness this three to five to seven day long cultural extravaganza.
The Sammelan has the distinction of being one of the few prestigious festivals which feature all the three branches of Classical music i.e. Gayan (Vocal), Vadan (Instrumental) and Nritya (Dance). This festival provides a magnificent opportunity to performers to showcase their endowments. To come on the stage of Pracheen Kala Kendra denotes beginning of an artist in the panorama of Indian classical music. Every year renowned artists from all over the country come to Chandigarh and participate in this Sammelan which is organized without charging any entry fee/tickets from the audience. The Kendra organizes this festival exclusively for the promotion of classical music. The City Beautiful of Chandigarh and All India Bhaskar Rao Nritya and Sangeet Sammelan have grown young together and the later has put the city on the cultural map of the world.
Today, the Sammelan is a hallmark in the annual cultural calendar of Chandigarh. Since its start in 1969, almost all the leading luminaries from the field of classical dance and music have had the occasion to be part of the annual Nritya and Sangeet Sammelan. This is evident from the participation of Ustad Bade Mubarak Ali Khan, Ustad Vilayat Khan, Dagar Brothers, Sardar Sohan Singh, Pandit A. Kanan, Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna, Pandit Jasraj, Guru Girija Devi, Begum Parveen Sultana, Pt. C.R. Vyas, Guru Shobha Gurtu, Dr. Prabha Atre, Pandit Rajan-Sajan Mishra, Pt. Ajoy Chakraborty, Ustad Rashid Khan, Dr. Sharayu Kalekar, Smt. Sulochana Brahaspati, Vidushi Shubha Mudgal, Pandit Kishan Maharaj, Dr. N. Rajam, Pandit V.G. Jog, Pandit Ram Narayan, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Pandit Debu Chaudhary, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Pandit Manilal Nag, Pt. Buddhadev Dasgupta, Pandit Tarun Bhattacharya, Ustad Shahid Parvez, Ustad Shujaat Husain Khan, Pt. Kumar Bose, Guru Pankaj Charan Das, Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, Guru Sanjukta Panigrahi, Guru Sonal Mansingh, Guru Kumkum Mohanty, Pandit Durga Lal, Guru Shambhu Maharaj, Guru Sunder Prasad, Guru Gopi Krishan, Guru Kundan Lal Gangani, Guru Sitara Devi, Guru Uma Sharma, Guru Shovana Narayan, Guru Shobha Koser, Guru Raja-Radha Reddy, Guru Swapanasundri, Guru Leela Samson, Guru Daksha Seth, Guru Saroja Vaidyanathan, Mrs. Mamata Shankar and Guru Kiran Segal to name just a few from the long list of truly top grade vocalists, instrumentalists and dancers.
List of artists performed till date is given below:-
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