The Saptak festival stood out for its formidable line-up of artistes from across the globe
The world’s longest Hindustani music festival, Saptak, bravely went online last week. Featuring 34 concerts, spread over 13 days, the festival stood out for its laidback approach to the visuals. Unlike other festivals which insisted on uniformity and standardisation of presentation, down to the backdrop, quality levels of recording and sound, Saptak was remarkable in its “hands-off” decentralised broadcasts. Adding charm and an old-fashioned quaintness, one realised that to hear good music, one doesn’t really need the fancy settings and close-up shots. Founder of Saptak, sitarist Manju Mehta, said that the emphasis was only on the music.