Says mandal trustee Rambhau Joshi: ``We will felicitate Pandit Bhimsen Joshi for having received the Padmavibhushan award recently. Along with him S P Godrej, recipient of the Padmabhushan award, will also be felicitated. But before he left for Delhi, we requested Panditji to give a public performance in Pune, now that he had recuperated. He agreed much to our delight.''

Since the last six months, Joshi says Panditji has been doing his riyaz for three to four hours a day, to get back on the public platform once again. This 78-year-old maestro proved that his voice was as melodious and enchanting when he sang briefly during the golden jubilee celebrations of the University of Pune, when the Pandit Bhimsen Joshi chair was inaugurated on the occasion, sometime last month. The short spell had left the audience spellbound then.

In a touching and noble gesture, the Arya Sangeet Prasarak Mandal, has organised a special programme of Panditji, who has been an integral part of the organisation, since its inception, 46 years back. Well-acclaimed and budding artists who swoop down to Pune for the Sawai Gandharv festival make it a point to pay obeisance to Pandit Bhimsen Joshi. Also, until three years back, Panditji who travels widely in the country, for live classical programmes, has been spotting young talent and inviting them for performing at the Sawai Gandharv.

Thanks to his relentless efforts in keeping his eyes open, on the generation next, the classical music still continues to have aficionados, despite the bombardment of pop and rock music.

In fact, for over four decades, Bhimsen Joshi's performance has always been the grand finale to the three-day Sawai Gandharv festival. A rich tradition was broken, when in 1996, Bhimsen Joshi was not able to perform due to a fracture.

Last year, Panditji underwent two operations - one, for ulcers and another for a brain tumour, reveals Joshi. This had made him very weak. But, quite admirably, he is back again.

The Sunday's performance, which will begin at 7.30 p m will last for one and a half hour and is open to the public, free of charge. The well known Renuka Swarup Girls' High School grounds is located in the vicinity of S P College, on Tilak Road. When his mellifluous voice resonates the sprawling grounds of the school and the music-loving Puneites reciprocate with wahs and nods, it could well be another episode of mile sur mera tumhara, to sur bane hamara.