'Khazana, a Festival of Ghazals' to be held on July 29th and July 30th 2022 this year to be dedicated to Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar ji

'Khazana, a Festival of Ghazals', the concept which is over two decades old is being presented in physical form this year after the gap of two years owing to the Covid-19 pandemic - Jyothi Venkatesh

Led by the affable Ghazal maestro Pankaj Udhas, leading artists will participate in the two-day festival to be held on July 29th and July 30th 2022 at its traditional venue of Hotel Trident, Nariman Point, Mumbai in South Mumbai.

'Khazana, a Festival of Ghazals' which began more than 21 years ago as a platform to the Ghazal artists to showcase their talent for the nobel cause of raising funds for thalassaemic children and cancer patients was obstructed for two years.

The Festival was presented online due to the Covid-19 restrictions. With the Covid-19 curbs lifted, 'Khazana, a Festival of Ghazals' is back with a bang. It will be held on Friday, July 29 and Saturday, July 30 2022 at 7 pm at the Regal Room, Trident, Nariman Point, Mumbai.

'Khazana, a Festival of Ghazals' is this year dedicated to late Bharat Ratna Smt Lata Mangeshkar.Lata Mangeshkar ji has a huge contribution in popularising Ghazals through cinema and this is Khazana way of thanking her and celebrating her music, life and legacy.

It is being organised in aid of Cancer Patients Aid Association & Parents Association Thalassaemic Unit Trust and is being presented by Trident, Nariman Point, Mumbai and Union Bank of India.

Apart from Pankaj Udhas, Rekha Bhardwaj, Talat Aziz, Rahul Deshpande, Priyanka Barve, Pooja Gaitonde, Khazana Artist Aloud Talent Hunt winner Surendra Kumar Rawal from Kota will participate in the festival on its first day.

Sneha Astunkar and Himangi are the two upcoming artists who will be introduced at Khazana on the first day. On the second day, on July 30th, Anup Jalota, Hariharan, Vishal Bhardwaj, Sudeep Banerji, Pratibha Singh Baghel, Khazana Artist Aloud Talent Hunt Winner Aparajita Lahiri from Ranchi, Ghansham and Shivani Vaswani and Runaa Rizvii Shivamani (tribute to Late Rajkumar Rizvi) will participate in the festival.

A journey which began in 2002 for a very noble cause of helping Thalassemia and Cancer patients has evolved and will now complete 21 years in July 2022. Achieving this feat would not have been possible without selfless support and love of music lovers, artists and supporters for this genre of music.

Legendary Ghazal maestro Pankaj Udhas said, "I take this opportunity to thank Trident, Nariman Point, Mumbai, Union Bank of India, all the artists, sponsors and the audience, for their full-hearted support from the bottom of my heart.

I hope and am also confident that this year also the show will prove to be a resounding success as in the past. We are pleased to inform you that with your participation, the help of various sponsors and the audiences we have been able to generate sizable funds to help cancer patients and thalassaemic children in the last two decades.

All proceeds in terms of donations will go to the charity to help the treatment of thalassemic children and cancer patients." Trident, Nariman Point, Mumbai is associated with the festival and It has given it's wholehearted support to the festival since its inception.

What is interesting is that this concert will see the young talent from Khazana Artist Aloud Talent Hunt performing with the veterans. This year's edition of the 'Khazana Artist Aloud Talent Hunt' - India's first and only talent hunt for ghazal singers saw tremendous participation from over 75 cities across India. The 2 winners will get an opportunity to now perform at the eagerly awaited Khazana Ghazal festival 2022.

The Cancer Patients Aid Association (CPAA) and The Parent's Association Thalassemic Unit Trust (PATUT) work together to raise funds for the treatment of children suffering from Cancer and Thalassemia. Padmashree Pankaj Udhas is the President of the PATUT and it is by his efforts the Khazana has been organised to raise the funds for the last two decades.

Udhas further said, "Every year 10,000 children with Thalassaemia Major are born in India, which constitutes 10% of the total number in the world and one out of every 8 carriers of Thalassaemia worldwide lives in India.

PATUT provides end to end solutions on Thalassaemia, including Awareness, Detection, Prevention, Test for matching of Bone Marrow of Donor and Donee, sponsoring Bone Marrow Transplant of Thalassaemia Major Children under ten years age and Counselling.

For the last five years, PATUT has concentrated on Bone Marrow Transplants (BMT) for Children up to age of 10 years, which is the only remedy available for Thalassaemia Major, Sickle Cell Anemia and A Plastic Anemia Patients."

Cancer Patients Aid Association (CPAA) is a 53-year-old, non-profit organisation, with a distinctive philosophy of 'Total Management of Cancer' encompassing activities like Awareness, Early Detection, Support for treatment, Guidance and Counselling, Rehabilitation, Research Studies and Advocacy.

CPAA's core commitment has always been to provide help on emotional, financial and medical fronts to cancer patients and their families.

"Throughout the pandemic CPAA has been able to support the treatment of 8,705 patients and rehabilitate 1,033 with aid of Rs. 8.93 crore through our nation wide network of about 200 hospitals and treatment centres covering 42 cities and towns and 18 states of India.

We are grateful for the unflinching support and generosity of all donors and patrons. But the fact remains that globally, India has the third highest number of cancer cases with over 13 lakhs new diagnosis every year. We have a long way to go and so many more challenges to overcome." adds Mr Y K Sapru, Founder Chairman of CPAA.