For the first time in India...
Introducing Gunijaan Bandish Rashtriya Pratiyogita, a prestigious pan-India bandish contest. Ideated by Aparna Kelkar, curated by Shashi Vyas, produced by Grace Foundation and managed by Pancham Nishad Creatives Pvt. Ltd. This contest celebrates the birth centenary year of the legendary vocalist Pandit C. R. Vyas.
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What is Gunijaan Bandish Rashtriya Pratiyogita?

  • Bandish is an integral part of any vocal concert of Indian classical music.
  • 'Gunijaan Bandish Rashtriya Pratiyogita' is a singing contest featuring bandishes composed by the legendary Indian classical vocalist, Padmabhushan Pandit C. R. Vyas (Gunijaan).
  • The contest will be primarily divided in two categories with male & female participants being assessed separately.
  • The first round of contest is ONLINE wherein participants are requested to submit a video of them singing a bandish composed by Pandit C.R. Vyas LIVE.
  • Candidates selected from the first round will convene in Pune, Maharashtra (dates to be announced) to demonstrate their live performances for the final rounds.
  • There will be three prizes in each category (male & female) –

    • a. Winner
    b. 1st Runner-up
    c. 2nd Runner-up

WHY IS THIS NATIONAL CONTEST BEING ORGANISED?

  • To commemorate the birth centenary year of Padmabhushan Pandit C. R. Vyas by creating a platform for young aspiring singers to showcase their talent.
  • To create awareness of the bandishes composed by Pandit C.R. Vyas, under the pen name GUNIJAAN, amongst the youth.
  • To create opportunities for young talent to perform in many live concerts organised by renowned organisers spread across the globe.

Winners of Gunijaan Bandish Pratiyogita 2024

Male Vocal Category

First Runner-up

Darshan Melavanki, Bijapur

₹75,000/-

Winner

Meher Paralikar, Pune

₹1,25,000/-

Second Runner-up

Atharva Vairagkar, Nashik

₹50,000/-

Female Vocal Category

First Runner-up

Somdatta Chatterjee, Kadambagachhi, West Bengal

₹75,000/-

Winner

Tejaswini Vernekar, Varanasi

₹1,25,000/-

Second Runner-up

Yugandhara Keche, Ch. Sambhajinagar

₹50,000/-

Glimpses of Gunijaan Bandish Rashtriya Pratiyogita

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Meet the Meticulous Minds Driving the Gunijaan Bandish Rashtriya Pratiyogita

The G.R.A.C.E. Foundation (Gunijaan Research, Art, Culture, and Education Foundation) believes in the motto “Stay together and grow individually." It has been formed with the objective of bringing together different verticals and their proponents in the field of Indian performing arts to collaborate, support, and achieve a common goal of promoting and preserving Indian arts and culture. Through events, research, archiving, and documentation, it aims to preserve and present valuable traditional knowledge, making it accessible to the young generation. It further endeavours to foster an exchange of ideas, dialogues, and performances to promote young talent and support the exponents of traditional performing arts as they navigate the fast-changing modern world. In keeping with the above objective, the Foundation has undertaken projects such as:
OPEN DIALOGUE: A full-day seminar to launch the GRACE Foundation, held on February 6, 2021. The event brought together music veterans, renowned musicians, industry experts, and music connoisseurs to exchange ideas and views on the way forward for Indian classical music.
BANDISH PROJECT: The GRACE Foundation has also strived to promote young, prodigious musicians. In July of 2021, it created a series of live performance audios and videos featuring 14 young vocalists and instrumentalists who performed different traditional bandishes.
GHARANA GEN-NEXT and RAAGDARI GEN-NEXT: Live concerts featuring talented musicians from all across the country.
GRACE Foundation also aims to take Indian classical music to the interior parts of India and has currently initiated this activity by hosting renowned classical musicians in the town of Ambajogai in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra since 2021.
Company Info
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Company Information

  • Company registered a/s 8 of the companies Act, 2014 in the year 2019 (regn no) : 11478
  • Office address: 103, Swastik Chambers, SG Barve marg, Chembur, Mumbai – 400071
  • Board of directors:
    Shashi Vyas
    Jaimin Bhatt
    Jyoti Vyas
  • PAN No.: AAHCG8609D
  • GST No.: 27AAHCG8609D1ZK
  • Email: gracefoundation1924@gmail.com

Pancham Nishad Creatives Pvt Ltd, was incorporated in 1996 with an objective to showcase India’s rich heritage of musical talent for the music lovers across the globe. Founded by Shashi Vyas, Pancham Nishad has till date organised and managed more than 1500 cultural events especially indian classical music concerts throughout India.
Pancham Nishad has been widely acknowledged and credited in the world of performing arts for conceiving and curating thematic events like 'Sur Sagar', 'Todi Mahotsav', 'Basant Utsav', 'Thumri Utsav', 'Midnight Melodies', 'Mridgandh', 'Grishma Ritu Sangeet', 'Kanth Swar', 'Kanada Utsav', 'Bhairav Se Bhairavi', 'Samanvay', 'Sanjivani', 'Surbhi', 'Swar Nritya Utsav', 'Rang Bhairav', 'Tapasya', 'Siddhi', 'Aavartan', 'Guru Shishya Parampara' to name a few. Some annual properties of Pancham Nishad like 'Bolava Vitthal', 'Aarohi', 'Raagdari Gen Next', 'Pratahswar', 'Udayswar@Prithvi', 'Spiritual Morning', etc. have been admired as 'Trend Setters' by the musicians in the field of performing arts.
Company Info
X

Company Information

  • Board of directors:
    Shashi Vyas
    Samir Mehta
    Hemant Bhuta
  • The Company is registered as a Pvt Ltd in the year 1996 (regn no: -99065)
  • Office address: 103, Swastik Chambers, S. G. Barve Marg, Chembur, Mumbai, 400071
  • PAN No.: ACCP3003F
  • GST No.: 29AACCP3003F1ZU
  • Email: panchamnishad@gmail.com

The Thought Behind Gunijaan Bandish Rashtriya Pratiyogita

On the occasion of the birth centenary year of my music mentor, Padmabhushan Pandit C.R.Vyas, there was an intense urge to offer him my tribute in a distinct way. His profound contribution to the world of Indian classical music as a performer, a guru, and last but not least, as a composer of more than 200 bandishes under the pen name ‘Gunijaan’, reflects his innovative spirit and unwavering dedication to classical music. His contributions have left an indelible mark on Indian music history.
His ability to express the kaleidoscope of his life experiences through music, coupled with his spiritual depth, profound understanding of the nuances of raags, and an immensely creative mind, led to the creation of these bandishes, which not only drew in many disciples like me but also peer musicians of his era and the next generation like Jitendra Abhishekiji, Malinitai Rajurkar, and Veenatai Sahasrabuddhe, to name a few.
This prompted me to toy with the idea of hosting a Gunijaan Bandish Rashtriya Pratiyogita or talent hunt. I approached Shashi Vyas, who not only liked it but stepped in to scale it to the national level. My objective of creating awareness about my guru’s bandishes amongst aspiring young musicians is a humble tribute to his selfless pure soul, which continues to guide me in my personal and professional life.
 - by Aparna Kelkar
(Ideator)

FROM THE DESK

The year 2024 marks the birth centenary of the legendary vocalist of Hindustani classical music, Padmabhushan Pandit C. R. Vyas. Apart from being one of the leading vocalists, he was also a great composer and a guru. As a composer, he not only penned 200+ compositions/bandishes under the pen name ‘Gunijaan’ but also created new raags like Dhankoni Kalyan, Sagera, Sudh Ranjani, and Shiv-Abhogi, to name a few.
We at GRACE (Gunijaan Research Art Culture & Education) Foundation, feel that it would be befitting to hold a pan India “Gunijaan Bandish Rashtriya Pratiyogita”, wherein participants are required to sing any one of the bandishes composed by Padmabhushan Pandit C.R. Vyas to celebrate his birth centenary.
The objective of this contest is not only to offer a perfect platform for young, aspiring, talented male and female vocalists but also to create awareness about the importance of and the need to study the contemporary compositions exploring new dimensions/perceptions of raag sangeet.
This is the first time in the history of Indian classical music that a contest of this kind is being held on such a large scale at a national level.
 - by Shashi Vyas
(Curator)

ABOUT PANDIT C.R. VYAS

The Late Pandit Chintaman Raghunath Vyas, known in the music world as Pandit C.R. Vyas, was born into a family of “Keertankars” in the small village of ‘Ter’ in the Dharashiv district of Maharashtra. He was gifted with a massive and intensely musical voice, marked by both depth and range, through which he enriched the world of Indian classical music in immeasurable ways. Having assimilated the genius of the three leading khayal gharanas (Kirana, Gwalior and Agra) he used this knowledge as a foundation to carve out new creative paths in exploration of his musical heritage

Driven by his own comprehension of the raag, he was never constrained by the transmitted ideologies of the three gharanas. He strove to balance the demands of concert performances with a deep study of traditional music and compositions that explored the different profiles of a particular raag to enhance the aesthetics of the raag while retaining its foundation and purity.

His book of compositions titled ‘Raag Sarita’ is considered an important reference for music students and young performing artists.

In recognition of his contribution to the world of music, he was honoured with several awards like the ‘Padmabhushan’, ‘Sangeet Natak Akademi Award’, ‘Tansen Samman’, ‘Maharashtra Bhushan’ and the ‘Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan Award’.

Contact Us

+91-8484012431
+91-8484012433
+91-7045597505
support@gunijaanbandish.in
Gunijaan Bandish Rashtriya Pratiyogita: 103, Swastik Chambers, S. G. Barve Marg, Chembur, Mumbai, 400071.